Charles McMahon's letter on Aug. 3 is an outrageous distortion of my record on Iraq and the context of my meeting with him and his wife on Jan. 29, 2007. Given his blatant disregard for the truth, I think it is appropriate to set the record straight.

Mr. McMahon and I met upon my return from a trip to Iraq — my eighth — that I took in early 2007 with Sens. Hillary Clinton and Evan Bayh. I met with the McMahons for 30 minutes with two of my senior staff. The McMahons and I had a substantive discussion on our efforts in Iraq and what the conditions on the ground would need to be in order for our troops to leave safely.

While we disagreed on some points — namely, the McMahons were wedded to their position of an immediate withdrawal and I firmly believe that we can't withdraw our troops when doing so would plunge the region into chaos — I thought the discussion was collegial and focused on substance, not partisanship.

Never once have I said publicly or in private meetings that the war in Iraq is "unwinnable," that conditions on the ground are "terrible," and that the war was a "mistake." To assert I said that in a meeting in January 2007 is simply false.

I have always said the bulk of the responsibility for determining the fate of Iraq is up to the Iraqi people. This is not a situation where a pure military victory will permanently stabilize the country. Our men and women on the ground have done tremendous work and stabilized the country to a point where true democratic progress is being made.

My legislation from 2007 that Mr. McMahon refers to implemented benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet in order to receive U.S. government support — it never was designed to mandate a troop withdrawal or funds being withheld for military action. Indeed, my bill was the first in the House of Representatives to legislatively mandate benchmarks, long before such criteria became a common idea for conditional U.S. involvement, and was referred to by some as the "Iraq Government Accountability Act."

Like every American, I want our troops home as quickly and safely as possible. I am hopeful that the situation has moved to a point where we can continue the troop drawdowns we saw this summer — now over 30,000 of our troops have left Iraq thus far — into the fall. What Mr. McMahon apparently fails to recognize is that the Iraq of today is a much different place than that just 18 months ago.

The road ahead remains uncertain, but I have never stopped supporting our men and women in the armed forces to ensure they have the resources they need — both at home and when deployed — to complete the mission our country has asked of them.

According to my opponent Michael Oot's Web site, what Mr. McMahon fails to disclose in his letter is that he is now the city of Oneida Democratic chair and has held events at his home that Mr. Oot attended — whom he "endorses" in this attack letter. Disagreement on the issues is a normal part of political discourse. I look forward to a healthy debate. Resorting to slanderous attacks and lies, however, should not be.

Rep. John M. McHugh

Pierrepont Manor

The writer represents the 23rd Congressional District.