Matt Campbell is a Democrat running in the fifth district in Iowa against odious Republican Steve King.

Campbell is for jobs, against raising the retirement age, and for raising the cap on Social Security. He’s also for drawing down our involvement in Afghanistan. From his issues page:

The missions in Afghanistan and Iraq should be funded so that they are successful but we must draw our involvement in both countries to more limited roles so that our brave men and women in uniform there can return to their families and to be available for any other future crisis that could develop.

Jason Rosenbaum and I spoke with Campbell late last week about Afghanistan. What follows is a lightly edited transcript. More analysis coming up here in the near future.

The Seminal: How did you come to your view about the war in Afghanistan?

Matt Campbell: I supported the effort in Afghanistan until recently, until the date it became the longest war in history of the United States. That statistic drives home the question as to what is our objective there? The returns we’re getting in Afghanistan are marginal, and it’s time to bring our men and women home from being in harm’s way.

We’re spending an awful lot of money there. It’s time to bring most of our troops home, and perhaps have some garrison forces in outer areas, but the country needs to stand on its own. It’s been nearly a decade, and it’s simply time. The fact that this is the longest war in American history drives that point home to me and to the American public.

My view came about from some serious discussions I heard on Meet the Press and others some months ago, with panels of analysts discussing the issue. I recognize the difficult situation over there, with the Taliban recruiting low income people to join their cause. But for the American taxpayer there are billions spent in Afghanistan and I don’t think we’re seeing progress. We’re at a plateau situation where we need to get those men and women back home out of harm’s way.

Both of my grandparents served in World War II, and both are now deceased. I spoke with one of my grandparents who saw heavy combat in the European theater. He recognized how difficult war is, and he said, "Bring the boys home." And that was years ago.

I’m from Iowa, with a very large contingent of national guard forces deployed for 3rd or 4th tours. This has placed tremendous strain on the military for years, and our readiness to respond to other crises is somewhat limited because of our engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s time to start drawing down both efforts.

I would make sure safeguards were in place, but in Congress I’d vote against re-authorization of additional expenditures.

The Seminal: There was a report in NY Times this morning, one of many, about how Afghanistan isn’t a factor in the midterms. Are you seeing that?

Matt: In my district, folks are very concerned about the safety and security of troops, and they believe in strong national security. The folks serving include neighbors and family members. Iowa has strong history of support for service to our country through the armed forces. I respect the sacrifice such individuals make.

For me, this isn’t a calculated decision made for the election, it’s what’s good for the country. When we’ve been there for as long as we have, concern for questions about the objective, the exit strategy, when will men and women be back home with their families comes up. The point is really driven home when we have to rely on citizen soldiers from national guard to fight these wars, which places tremendous strain on their families. If we’re going to be at this current state of affairs and continue for years, if that’s the prognosis going forward, then it begs the question, "Why are we not drawing down force levels now?"

The Seminal: Can you give us examples of what you’re hearing from people you talk with about their views on the war?

Matt: When I speak with folks that know someone who’s served, I’ll get comments expressing frustration. But the viewpoint is mostly driven elsewhere because focal point is on jobs and the economy. It’s sad that the wars have become a background issue for voters. That’s where there’s really concern for me. If war is a background issues and we have men and women in harm’s way, serious analysis needs to be given to our objective and whether the objective is the same back in 2001 than it is now.

It’s a tough decision to draw down our forces because we’ve made a considerable investment in our efforts over there, which I’ve been supportive of. I’m one of those Democrats who supported the efforts originally because there was a direct attack on the United States. It made sense to attack those forces head-on. But if we can’t commit more resources to make a dramatic improvement – and there’s no political will to do that – then we’ll be at a plateau for years. Let’s bring them home now and retain minimal forces to keep the country stable and out of Taliban hands.

The Seminal: What other engagements – Somalia, Yemen – could you point to as example of minimal forces?

Matt: An example I’d point more would be South Korea or Germany, where we maintain bases a number of years after the conflict. That’s what I think could be done right now. The forces we have that are on the front lines over in Afghanistan largely need to be pulled back.

I’m certain some folks out there would like every soldier returned tomorrow. In my mind this plan is the start of it. With the investments and sacrifices our men and women have made, it won’t be something that happens overnight. I’m saying let’s start the process of drawing it down.

The Seminal: Regarding the recent confirmation by WikiLeaks that Pakistan is actively engaging our forces in Afghanistan, what’s the proper response?

Matt: We certainly have to reassess at a diplomatic level our engagement with Pakistan. It’s unacceptable that a country receiving that much U.S. aid would have forces within it that would attack our forces. It’s a serious diplomatic issue.

The Seminal: What is your opponent doing on the economy and in terms of the war?

Matt: Steve King will fully support any re-authorization. His focus on the economy is point to immigrants as being the root cause of all of our problems. He is really a radical when it comes to taxes, he promotes a flat tax, a national sales tax, of more than 25%, which would overly tax middle class working families when you consider sales tax as well. He’s a supporter of tax protester type movements, and he empathized with the suicide bomber in Texas four days after the attack occurred, which was a real failure of leadership.

He’s all about cut, cut, cut, which shows me he has no growth plan. He wants to cut regulation across the board, which doesn’t make sense to me. The issue is whether there is effective regulation or not. More effective regulation of the financial sector would have precluded the economic collapse. More effective regulation would have precluded Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford victims from losing their life savings.

The Seminal: If we weren’t spending all that money on the war, what would be your domestic priorities?

Matt: The money that’s spent on the war, if we’re not spending that money, it should go to reducing the deficit. I don’t want to cut social programs. I’m not sure there’s additional money to spend on other areas, but want to emphasize I don’t want to cut back.

The Iowa GOP’s platform is to cut Medicare and Medicaid. I oppose that. I wrote an article online noting how Republicans want to raise the retirement age to 70. I strongly oppose that. Blue collar workers who’ve been working all their life, they deserve to have full benefits. I don’t want to cut benefits or raise the retirement age that Republicans assert is necessary for Social Security’s solvency. I’d rather raise the cap on Social Security taxation to provide for solvency.

Finally, I want to emphasize that I have a strong military background in my family. My uncles have served in the Air Force, and both grandparents in the Army in World War II. I don’t take these positions lightly, and I recognize their seriousness to our country going forward.

When war becomes a background issue in this country, it’s time to reassess.

You can learn more about Matt and help his campaign by visiting his website: http://www.mattcampbellforcongress.com