NATIONAL DEFENSE & THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR

Rocky has served our nation in three (3) wars while in the United States Army for 24 years and he knows that our nation is at war with extreme Islamic fundamentalists who want to end our way of life. Especially considering what we endured as a nation on September 11, 2001, we have no choice but to win the war on terror – decisively. Rocky knows that our successes are measurable: General Petraeus is a superb commander; the “surge” is working; troop levels are being reduced this year; many provinces of Iraq have been returned to the control of the government of Iraq; the Prime Minister of Iraq has indicated that the United Nations authorization for the Multi-National Force in Iraq may not be necessary after this year; and terrorist organizations have been deeply crippled.

This is no time for defeatist talk. Political rhetoric that this war is lost and that its mission is pointless serves only to empower and embolden the terrorists, and also to deeply and powerfully harm the morale of our troops, impairing their ability to accomplish their mission. This rhetoric is irresponsible and does not reflect the voice of the citizens of our 9th District.

Rocky’s plan for dealing with the war and the terrorist threat includes:

1. Rooting out terrorist activity wherever it exists;
2. Standing tall with our men and women in the military and making certain that they have the equipment, means and support necessary to accomplish their mission;
3. Re-establishing our dominance in the world intelligence community; and
4. Making realistic adjustments to troop deployment – taking our guidance from our top military advisors first and politicians last.