Like many of our fellow Americans, I share the desire to have all of our men and women in uniform return home soon and safely. I would also like to see peace and stability in the Middle East.

    As President and Commander in Chief, our Chief Executive has already undertaken the surge in troops to deal with this growing conflict. Congress has the ability to declare war, which it did in 2002, and to decide military funding. With our troops now in harm's way, it is my concern that non-binding resolutions, such as the one recently passed by the House of Representatives, may only undermine our military and encourage insurgent attacks. Hopefully, both Democrat and Republican leaders will work with the President and will assist in this current attempt to quell the ongoing Iraqi violence. Every attempt must be made to bring our troops home without leaving this entire region in future chaos.

    Please be assured that I hope and pray that peace can be achieved in both Iraq and other areas like Darfur where civil unrest is taking thousands of lives. Unfortunately, we live in a world where extremism, genocide and terrorism continue to destroy innocent lives. It is my hope that we can bring Iraq and other conflicts to an end as soon as possible.