01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, November 29, 2005

PRESIDENT BUSH'S failed policy in Iraq has been tragically irresponsible. He sent American men and women to war because he said that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and ties to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 -- but they had neither.

He had no plan after the fall of Saddam Hussein -- allowing for the chaos that let the insurgency take hold. And now he continues to refuse to set a plan to end the war.

Americans have paid a heavy price. We have lost over 2,000 American soldiers, with over 14,000 wounded, and our military has been drained of resources and troops, undermining its ability to protect our country and to find and fight the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11.

We need to change direction. To do that, we need leaders to put forward real solutions. That's why, back in August, I became the first U.S. Senate candidate in America to call on President Bush to set a timetable to bring the troops home -- and why I am still fighting and organizing for that today.

The Dec. 15 Iraqi elections are the final step in a 2 1/2-year process -- made possible by courageous American troops -- to establish a permanent Iraqi government. I have proposed that after these elections America begin withdrawing troops, handing control of sections of Iraq to the Iraqi security forces (starting with the safest provinces), and completing the withdrawal by the end of 2006.

Removing our troops does not mean abandoning Iraq. Following the withdrawal, the United States should provide Iraq with continued military training and advice, as well as political and economic support, as we do for many nations.

It is in the best interests of the United States to help stabilize Iraq, because a stable and unified Iraq is less likely to pose a threat to the United States or our allies, most importantly Israel. The best chance for a stable and unified Iraq is to bring our troops home following the Dec. 15 elections -- for two reasons:

First, stabilizing Iraq depends on the Iraqi political leaders -- Shi'ite, Sunni, and Kurdish -- taking responsibility and command of their country. They will take full responsibility and do the hard work of resolving their political differences only when they know that American soldiers will not be there to fight their internal fights for them.

Second, setting a timetable for withdrawal of our troops will deflate the insurgency fracturing the country. It will undermine the insurgency's ability to attract mercenaries from abroad, whose primary motivation for joining the Iraqi insurgency is the opportunity to fight the American military presence.

To bring our troops home next year, President Bush must be held accountable for completing the training of Iraqi security forces in the coming months. This training has been under way for over 2 1/2 years.

Less than 2 1/2 years into World War II, America had built a Navy fleet and invaded Africa and Italy, and it was preparing for the invasion of Normandy. President Bush, the commander in chief, owes it to the American people to get the training done.

Real responsibility means not just saying what you believe, but also working to make it happen. That's why, when I announced this plan in August, I started a petition calling on President Bush to set this timetable for withdrawal.

Over 7,000 Rhode Islanders have added their names to the petition.

I called on the other Senate candidates to sign the petition, but they refused. And they have failed to put forward their own proposals for what should be done in Iraq.

The war in Iraq is one of the most critical issues facing our nation. Rhode Islanders deserve to know where all the candidates stand on it.

I have not been in politics long. I spent most of my adult life working in communities, running nonprofit organizations. However, I've seen enough of politicians to know why they avoid proposing solutions to difficult issues: It's politically easier for them to criticize other people's ideas than to come up with their own and risk being criticized themselves.

So rather than putting forward real ideas for how to move forward in Iraq, the politicians use empty political rhetoric, such as "stay the course," to make themselves look tough or to justify their initial vote for the war; they wait for polls to tell them when it's okay to take a stand; they "ask the hard questions" about the war, but provide no answers; and they utter meaningless platitudes, such as "The troops should come home rapidly," without proposing any plan or timetable. Meanwhile, our soldiers continue to die, the prospects for a stable Iraq diminish -- threatening the security of the region and the world -- and our nation's military is drained to dangerously low levels.

Only when we move beyond finger-pointing and political rhetoric to real solutions can we end this war. Three months ago, I said what I believe we should do in Iraq. I stand by it, and I will continue to fight to make it happen.

Matthew Brown is Rhode Island secretary of state and a candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.