Derby joins effort to end war

Staff Reports

Congressional candidate and Gardnerville resident Jill Derby is one of 42 Democratic candidates to sign onto legislation to end the war in Iraq.

The candidates are all challengers of incumbents.

Derby said that she and Darcy Burner, a Washington candidate for Congress, will seek legislation to end the war should they win the election.

"This is a concept for those of us who are challenging incumbents," Derby said. "It is a responsible plan to end the war in Iraq."

Derby said Democrats received help from generals in drafting the plan.

"It addresses two fundamental questions," she said. "How do we end our involvement in a responsible manner and what do we put in place to make sure we don't make similar mistakes again?"

Derby was one of the first to sign on to the plan, which has been reviewed and endorsed by leading national security experts.

According to Derby, signers pledge to support more than a dozen pieces of legislation to accomplish their goals.

"We owe our veterans and their families a comprehensive solution to end the War in Iraq, restore our military, and build the foundation for a lasting peace," Derby said. "In the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq, we finally have our answer-and the voices to make it heard."

In addition to ending the war, the plan suggests lists using U.S. diplomatic power to create stability, addressing the humanitarian issues of displaced Iraqis, live up to the promises made to our military, and create a U.S.-centered energy policy.

In a statement, Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said he believes that America should get out of Iraq more intelligently than we got in.

Last year, Heller joined Republicans and Democrats in cosponsoring legislation to implement the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group.