Republican Senate candidate Steve Sauerberg says this is a critical time in Iraq and the United States must not withdraw its troops.

"We can't afford to leave," Sauerberg said Monday in his first debate with incumbent Senator Dick Durbin.

He says the United States can win the war if it keeps fighting and will end up improving life for the Iraqi people.

But Durbin says the United States shouldn't spend $10 billion or $15 billion a month -- along with the lives of American soldiers -- to help rebuild Iraq.