Press Release

Time for Troops to Come Home
Put Resources in the American Family

NASHVILLE – Five years into the fighting in Iraq, the war on terror has lost its focus and Osama bin Laden remains at large while the U.S. spends billions on Iraq as Americans face a recession, Senate candidate Mike Padgett said Wednesday.

“Tennesseans want to see their loved ones, their heroes, who are serving, as well as the dollars being spent, come home,” Padgett said. “There are critical needs for both that are not being met. There may be ‘no doubt’ in the president’s mind about Iraq, but there is plenty of doubt in the minds of Americans.”

Nearly 4,000 members of the U.S. military have died, some 30,000 have been wounded, and taxpayers have spent $500 billion since the war was launched in March 2003. Iraq remains unstable, with violence on the rise in recent weeks, and Osama bin Laden remains at large while the war on terror stalls. Meanwhile, Americans are paying more than $3 for a gallon of gas as they stand on the brink of a recession.

“We are waging a dangerous and fruitless battle to get Iraq back on its feet while Americans families are seeing their decent, middle-class way of life slip away,” Padgett said. “The view from the kitchen table is a grim one for many Tennesseans.

“Banks are foreclosing on their homes, and the battle to balance the checkbook is an exercise in chaos. And what is the answer from President Bush and Republicans in Congress? The Fed helps bail out big lenders, and Republicans like Lamar Alexander consistently stand in the way of bipartisan efforts to find a reasonable way to bring the troops home.”

Padgett points out that the president’s “surge” of troops in Iraq has only brought scant progress that cannot be sustained. “Suicide bombings are on the rise again,” Padgett said, “and military experts say we have not produced any kind of security that the Iraqis can sustain on their own. And we cannot fix the centuries-old infighting that is behind the bloodletting in that nation.

“The next president and Congress must get this thing out of neutral, and if Tennesseans will stand with me, I will work to see that it comes to a reasonable end and that we work with our friends in the world to fight the real threat of terrorism. I won’t settle for any less.”

William "Mike" Padgett is former Knox County Clerk and small business owner. He and Patty, his wife of 37 years, have three grown children, Matt, Mark and Sara Beth

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