U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan (D-N.C.) issued the following statement after attending President Obama’s speech today at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina:

“I am pleased that President Obama chose to come to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina to outline his plan for withdrawal from Iraq. I am proud of all the men and women who selflessly serve our country, and the Marines based at Camp Lejeune, who will be deploying shortly for Afghanistan, deserve our support while they are away from their home and their loved ones protecting our nation and our way of life.

“I have repeatedly said that it is past time that we begin a responsible withdrawal from Iraq in order to devote resources and manpower to Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world to defeat the terrorists who wish us harm. Keeping our troops in Iraq – at the expense of fighting terrorism elsewhere – is not making us any safer or more secure. While we all wish that our troops could come home as soon as possible, the most important concern is that our withdrawal from Iraq be safe, responsible, and with the least risk to our troops on the ground. President Obama consulted with his National Security Team and the generals on the ground, and if Generals Petraeus, Odierno and General Austin, a top commander in Iraq based out of Fort Bragg, are comfortable with this, then I believe we should proceed in this way.”