House Debate on Iraq

House Debate on Iraq

Sanders said, "Unfortunately, the Republican-run debate held in the House on Iraq was more of a political show than a discussion of where our country should be going. The idea that, on an issue of this great importance, those of us in the minority were not allowed to offer a resolution of our own is an insult to the democratic process and tells us why we have to end one-party government in America. The American people deserved real debate about our policies in Iraq, not a political stunt from the Republican leadership.

"Iraq is a war that we should not have gotten into in the first place. Iraq is a war that the Bush Administration was ill-prepared to fight and in which the sage advice of generals was ignored. And, most importantly, Iraq is a war that the Bush Administration does not know how to end. How many more years will our troops be there? How many more Americans and Iraqis will die? How much more money will be spent?

"Terrorism is a huge problem for our country and the world. Unfortunately, in many respects the war in Iraq has created more terrorists than it has stopped, and has deflected our attention away from the fight against Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. I voted no on this resolution because it simply calls for a continuation of the failed policies of the Bush Administration rather than taking us in a new direction."

http://bernie.house.gov/documents/document.asp?issueNum=4930