Rand Beers, president of the National Security Network, recommends pulling troops out of Iraq, but also leaving some behind to stablize the country.
President of the National Security Network, Rand Beers, spoke Wednesday to Miami University students about two of the country's most pressing issues - the Iraq war and America's national security.
Beers, also a former Marine officer and staff member of the National Security Council, laid out arguments asserting the Iraq war was not the best way to secure what is right for the country.
"I've painted an ambiguous picture why Iraq doesn't protect American interests," Beers said, after addressing his main points.
A Democrat, Beers disagreed with many of the current administration's war policies.
He did admit, however, that his plan to address global terrorism and national security was also not flawless.
"We are dealing in least-worst options here," he said. "Not best options."
Beers summed his case up by saying the United States has four primary interests in the Middle East: access to oil, quelling al Qaeda's ability to strike the United States and its interests abroad, preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and keeping Israel secure.
Beers said fighting in Iraq has done little to reduce the threat of terrorism to the United States.
"There was no al Qaeda presence in Iraq before the invasion," he said. "Al-Qaeda and its affiliates have a global base, freedom of action to chose the time, place, and means of attack despite the fact we have had a very aggressive and, to some degree, successful effort to go after the organization."
He also said that America's moral standing with Middle Eastern countries has suffered as a result of the conflict.
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"I think the notion that America is an occupying power in Iraq, the tragedy of Abu Ghraib, and the large number of civilian casualties - even if they're the normal cost of fighting a war - have all combined to reduce our moral authority," Beers said.
Beers recommended a plan to pull troops out of Iraq during a 10 to 24 month period, while leaving some forces behind to train Iraqi operatives and remain in neighboring countries.
Political science professor Patrick Haney, who introduced Beers, said any bias displayed by Beers was not detrimental to his message.
"This is a guy who worked for John Kerry, so he's got a perspective," Haney said. "But I don't think his perspective is particularly out of the mainstream. This is a guy who has served the Republican and Democrat presidencies in the National Security Council staff."
Beers visited campus as part of the Marian Finch Endowment and Ernest G. Siefert capstone in political science - two programs which bring in speakers annually.
According to Haney, political ideology is not a factor in determining who is invited.
"It's a yearly thing and (ideology) runs a range," Haney said. "There's no attention paid to bias."
Kevin Shkolnik, a junior strategic communication major at Miami, with Beers' message.
"The reason the current administration has brought up the link of terrorism and Iraq has been to gain public support," Shkolnik said. "Today, (Beers) said with us being in Iraq, we are not furthering those interests. In some respects, our presence there is counter-productive."
Shkolnik, who attended the College Republican-sponsored lecture by John Bolton April 10, said Beers was Bolton's complete opposite.
"It's about as different philosophically as you can get," Shkolnik said.
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