I enlisted in the United States Army in 1974 and served two years at a nuclear missile site in what was then West Germany. The Cold War was still hot, and our military presence in Europe was needed to maintain the balance of power. When the Berlin Wall fell, effectively ending the Cold War, our presence was no longer necessary. But our military personnel are still there today, and in other settled regions, doing little more than subsidizing local economies. Closing many of these bases may upset our allies but save us billions of dollars going forward, and allow a more strategic use of existing soldiers. And as our unsecured southern border poses a direct threat to our national security, I will act quickly and prudently to station a number of those soldiers along that border to assist our efforts in regaining control.

The two main denominations of Islam are Sunni and Shi'a. And they have been fighting each other in the Middle East for well over 1000 years - and always over religion. Only when invaded by outsiders do they fight together, but go right back at it once the infidels are expelled. This is an oversimplification of history, of course, but for Mideast foreign policy purposes, it is pretty much all we need to know. And had the Bush administration fully comprehended this stark reality, we would not be in Iraq as the infidel de jour. And another 5 or 10 or even 50 years in Iraq will not change our status - or the Sunni/Shi'a equation. Which is why I will bring all military personnel home by the end of 2010.

Critics argue that announcing any timetable for withdrawal plays into the hands of our enemies, allowing them to sit back and wait. But that is exactly what they are doing now. And in the meantime they're fueling the Sunni/Shi'a conflict, confident that when we leave, such dysfunction will make it easier to accomplish their stated goal of converting the Middle East into an Islamic caliphate, ruled by the imposition of strict Sharia law. So it is past time we drop our veil of political correctness and speak this simple truth: we are caught in the crossfire of a religious civil war we have no business fighting - and no chance of ending. Karl Marx said "religion is the opiate of the masses." And while some may doubt this is true, there can be no doubt that religion has become the crack cocaine for many Middle East rulers, and especially for those extremists looking to overthrow them. So it is best that a strategy to end our military presence in Iraq also include a withdrawal of support for all theocracies in the Middle East. For it is no longer in our national interest to provide aid and comfort to those rulers unwilling to reform an educational system preaching religious hatred and intolerance of the modern world. And it is dangerously naive to continue believing any move toward stability, let alone democratic principles, can be achieved in Iraq or the broader Middle East without this basic yet fundamental reform.

So what will be the result of pursuing this strategy? Conventional wisdom holds that all hell will break loose in the Middle East. But those living in the region are hardly in heaven now. Arabs distrust other Arabs and Persians alike, and just about everyone is paranoid over Israel. Absent any American presence, bin Laden and other religious extremists will waste little time furthering their strategy to dominate the Middle East, beginning with whichever Arab country they consider the weakest at that time. Success will embolden them and may lead the region into what is often described as "unimaginable consequences," code words for nuclear war. The world is correct to fear such an event, but it is not unimaginable, or without precedent. Japan was not ruled by religious extremists, but the Emperor's willingness to sacrifice every man, woman and child in defense of their desire to dominate the world is no different than that of bin Laden and the Taliban. But perhaps when faced with the realities of nuclear war, those citizens of the region under the age of 30 - and they represent 60% of the total population - will decide to rise up and force an end to religious tyranny and a return to sanity. Democracy may not be their immediate reward, but the democratic metric of majority rule will be a n important step forward in the right direction. And to support such courage and honor their custom, I pledge to hold their hands every step of the way.

In conclusion, I would like to address the speculation surrounding why our country has not been attacked again since September the 11th. President Bush believes our homeland security efforts and taking the fight to the enemy are the primary reasons. Maybe so. But we cannot forget that in 1983 the Taliban and bin Laden began using Afghanistan as a training site and the incubator for their future Islamic caliphate, ruled by strict Sharia law. And after ousting the Russians in 1997 they stepped up their brutalization of the Afghan people, and quickly took control of the country. During all this time, as their religious militancy escalated, our actions in the region we're perceived as weakness: We quickly left Lebanon when 241 Marines were killed by a truck bomb in 1983...we left Somalia in 93 after the killing of 18 American soldiers...and did nothing in any meaningful way after the USS Cole attack just off the Yemen coast in 2000. So maybe bin Laden thought all that was necessary to finally convince America to leave the Middle East to its own devices was a spectacular attack. But I believe bin Laden was completely stunned when President Bush quickly retaliated, driving him and the Taliban from Afghanistan. He was further stunned when President Bush invaded Iraq, so much so that he reverted to the tactics that defeated the Russians, which were wear them down and wait them out. It took only ten years to defeat the Russians, and we've been in Iraq now for over five. But it would be a mistake to believe bin Laden and his followers no longer desire an Islamic world. But first they must dominate the Middle East, and for that they need us to leave. And that requirement is why I suspect al Quada has not attacked America again since September the 11th. It is just not in their best interest - but being patient is.