Iraq and Defense Modernization

We must end the war in Iraq, and we must do it as quickly and as safely as possible; our presence in Iraq only exacerbates the ongoing civil war and puts more American lives in danger.

Bringing our troops out of Iraq, however, will not end the hard work that lies ahead. We must embark upon a major reform of our armed forces -- especially the Army and Marine Corps -- so that these services can better deter, fight, and win the wars of the 21st century.

In order to achieve these aims, we must:

Withdraw all of our forces from Iraq, leaving no troops behind

Unlike Senators Clinton, Obama, and Edwards, who say that they will leave behind thousands -- even tens of thousands of troops -- in Iraq for years to come, my plan actually ends the war in Iraq. Only a rapid, complete withdrawal, not a drawn-out, Vietnam-like process, will save lives and force the Iraqis to make the hard political choices that they will avoid as long as we have a presence there.

Reform our Military to Meet the Realities of Modern Warfare

Our military excels at fighting and winning the nation's wars. We need to complement those skills with similar excellence at winning the peace. It is simply not right or fair to send our brave young men and women into battle without the capabilities they need to succeed on complex 21st-century battlefields.

To achieve these aims, we must adjust promotion and selection policies to incentivize learning the skills required in modern conflict, such as counter-insurgency doctrine, training foreign militaries, and humanitarian operations. We should also expand and better integrate Civil Affairs -- the troops who bridge the gap between soldiers and civilians -- within the entire force structure of the Army and Marine Corps.

The armed forces should better integrate civilians into reconstruction activities: we cannot place all of the responsibility upon the Department of Defense. However, we must also eliminate unaccountable mercenaries from our national security arsenal. We should create permanent military-civilian Provincial Reconstruction Teams in order to commence rebuilding operations the moment that the fighting ends, and before an insurgency can take hold.

We can then reward civilian expertise in humanitarian and post-conflict work with commissions at the rank of Warrant Officer or Captain, just as we already do with chaplains, doctors, and lawyers.

Expand the Army, Marine Corps, and Special Operations Community

To ensure that our soldiers and Marines are never again burdened with multiple deployments and not enough time to rest and retrain, we must expand the size of the Army and Marine Corps by some 50,000 troops (three divisions), and our nation's top commandos by some 10,000 forces.

Refocus the Pentagon's Budget on the Needs of the 21st Century

I have detailed over $57 billion in specific cuts to Cold War-era programs that do little to meet the threats of the 21st century. These include substantial cuts to our nuclear forces, which will also increase our ability to enlist other nations in the fight against nuclear proliferation.

Reset the Military's Equipment Standards

Following years of war, much of our Armed Services' equipment is in dire shape, worn out and in need of repair or renewal. When I am President, I will stop ignoring the pleas of our servicemen and women and fund our equipment needs, for both the Active Duty and Reserve Components of our military.

Protect our Guard and Reserve Personnel

Too many of our nation's National Guard and Reserve personnel have seen their lives torn apart by Iraq. Jobs have been lost and businesses ruined because President Bush has used the Guard and Reserves in a way that they were never meant to be used. When I'm President, I will strengthen the laws that protect Guard and Reserve personnel, and I will make sure that their voices are heard when we plan operations that involve them.

There is much else that we can do, but these plans represent a step in the right direction. We must reform our military to meet the 21st century, and when I am President, we will.