Iraq War Resolution
IRAQ WAR RESOLUTION
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Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution and express my profound disapproval of President Bush's decision to increase our troop levels in Iraq.
Late last year the President had an opportunity to create a new strategy. The voice of the American people was heard at this past election. The voice of the Iraq Study Group gave the President a bipartisan plan to draw down our troops. New leadership at the Pentagon also could have been a voice of change of strategy. But President Bush did not listen to any of these voices. He decided to escalate our troop levels in Iraq. No time frame, no measurable benchmarks, no end.
Mr. Speaker, if President Bush chooses an erroneous path, then it is our constitutional responsibility to show the way.
I have the deepest respect and gratitude for our women and men in uniform. I honor their commitment, their courage and their sacrifice.
Our troops have done everything we have asked them to do. They overwhelmed the old Iraqi Government and captured Saddam Hussein. They provided security while Iraq formed its provisional government, approved a constitution, and elected a permanent government.
Nine individuals from the First Congressional District of Indiana have already given their lives and made the supreme sacrifice for our Nation. These brave men and women will always be remembered: Sergeant Jeanette Winters; Specialist Gregory Sanders; Sergeant Duane Rios; Specialist Roy Buckley; Private First Class John Amos, II; Private Luis Perez; Private First Class Nathan Stahl; Corporal Bryan Wilson; Private First Class Steven Sirko; Specialist Nicholas Idalski; Specialist Adam Harting; and Staff Sergeant Jonathan Rojas.
I am so proud of the dedication and service of the people of my State in the United States military. We owe them a commitment equal to their courage. We owe them the courage to act on our conviction.
With the passage of 4 years and the loss of over 3,000 brave Americans and countless others who have been permanently injured, I regret to recall that we were told we needed to invade Iraq because Saddam Hussein possessed materials for weapons of mass destruction. None could be found. I regret that the President felt compelled to justify the invasion by claiming a connection between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein when the 9/11 Commission found this was simply not true.
Our situation in Iraq has redirected our Nation from its true mission. The war in Iraq has diverted our attention from the global war on terror. We need to reconstitute our Armed Forces. We also need a strategic redeployment of our forces that will give us the ability to focus our efforts directly on the global terror networks that target innocent people around the world.
I voted against the authorization of the Iraq invasion in 2003. There was no plan or exit strategy then, and there are clearly no good options now. Yet the Iraq Study Group provided a bipartisan perspective on some changes in strategy. They called for a drawdown of troops and for intensive diplomatic efforts to resolve the sectarian violence there. We need to listen to their recommendations.
Mr. Speaker, it is not too late to change our strategy, and the first step along the new way is to prevent the President's escalation of this war. It is time to obligate the Iraqi Government to assume the full burden and consequences of governing their country. We need to listen to the majority of the American people. We need to listen to reasoned voices such as the Iraq Study Group. The time to pursue a new course is now. I support our troops, and that is why I support this resolution.
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