Message From the Senate
MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE -- (House of Representatives - June 15, 2006)
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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, it is to my great regret that at key moments like this the President of the United States does not seek to unify the country. He does not use these moments to bring people together, to strengthen us. He does not rally the country behind our men and women in arms and in harm's way.
We applaud our troops. Thank God for their willingness to sacrifice for our Nation. I take every moment to support them and their families. But the President and the Republican leaders, within moments of our soldiers' valor in eliminating one of the worst terrorists, is rushing for some political advantage, some way to hurt the Democrats and raise the President's poll numbers. Our country deserves so much better.
The President wants this Congress to simply applaud his current course in Iraq, which is an indefinite, open-ended commitment of U.S. troops in the middle of a sectarian religious war. By the President's own words, 3 more years, with generals now talking about 10 years and permanent bases.
I want to be clear. I do not want to stay the course with this policy which will make us less safe, undermine our military, help the terrorists, cost many thousands of lives and cost another trillion dollars. This Congress has never held the President and his administration accountable, even when there were no plans.
This President, more than any other, has politicized this war, ignoring the advice of the military at every step, from General Shinseki's call for more troops to General Casey's admission that our troops' presence was inflaming violence. They have imposed political judgments from ideologues at the White House at the expense of our military's best advice.
And this Congress supported the White House politicians, not the generals when our course was set. This Congress supported the White House politicians when they did not give our troops the body armor and Humvee armor they needed. Now, when the President says just support the politicians in the White House one more time, they are here with this resolution.
What our troops need is a policy that is good for America and for our military. Being bogged down in Iraq indefinitely will make us less safe. All of the countries in the world and the region and the Iraqi people need to hear that America will redeploy over a responsible period. The current course allows countries a free ride at the expense of American troops and taxpayers. A policy of responsible redeployment will force others to play their role.
No one on this floor is for a precipitous withdrawal, and the President's statements are reckless, political and a disservice. We all agree, as did both bodies of the Congress, that 2006 would be a turning point. The White House politicians have ignored that resolution.
I support a redeployment of our troops to meet critical security needs over the next 12 months, with a significant reduction by the end of 2006. Others support redeployment by the end of 2008, and some by the end of 2007. But we all believe America's interest and our troops are served by a new course.
So I ask the President to change. Why not speak to the country's better virtues and unite the country? We want you to succeed. We should work together for a stronger America.
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