“One year ago today, the President announced he would escalate our military involvement in Iraq despite the clear desire of the American people to end the war. At the time, he said the strategy would give Iraq the time and space it needed for political reconciliation.
"Sadly, 2007 was the deadliest year for Americans in Iraq and so far this year, reports are that at least 15 servicemembers have been killed. Iraqis do not appear to be any closer to national reconciliation than they were a year ago. The surge may buy time, but it has done little to help bring about a sustainable resolution to Iraq’s problems. Without a political solution, our massive, open-ended military presence could be merely postponing an inevitable resurgence in violence, and providing a rallying cry and recruiting tool for al Qaeda and its allies.
“Congress has the power to end this war. If those of us in Congress who want to end this war don't take every opportunity to push back against this administration, we will be just as responsible for keeping our troops in Iraq. Congress should act to safely redeploy our troops from Iraq and end funding for the war so we can focus on what should be our top national security priority – waging a global campaign against al Qaeda and its affiliates.”
Senator Feingold has introduced legislation, along with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, to safely redeploy the vast majority of U.S. troops out of Iraq within nine months of enactment, after which funding for the war would end.
No comments:
Post a Comment