OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Developing a Comprehensive Strategy in Iraq

Floor Speech

Date: Oct. 2, 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Defense Military Personnel Foreign Affairs


DEVELOPING A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY IN IRAQ -- (House of Representatives - October 02, 2007)

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Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3087, legislation that will require the administration to develop and share with Congress a comprehensive strategy for the redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq.

Our Nation recognizes that we cannot remain in Iraq indefinitely. Just last week, General George Casey, the Army Chief of Staff, testified before the House Armed Services Committee that ongoing operations in Iraq were having a detrimental impact on our military readiness, endangering our ability to deal with other contingencies or problems. Our troops have done a superb job in a difficult mission, but they were not sent to Iraq to referee a civil war, and we need to bring them home. The violence in Iraq does not have a U.S. military solution; the answer lies in the Iraqi political reconciliation, which we must support with different methods.

The legislation before us today demonstrates Congress's commitment to ending our military presence in Iraq by mandating that the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, report on the status of planning for redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq and to provide periodic updates about their implementation. This information is vital for congressional oversight so that we ensure our policies are informed by sound judgment and reflect the complex logistical considerations involved with an undertaking of such magnitude. The administration's poor planning for the post-invasion period led to widespread problems in reconstruction and created the environment of instability that reigns to this day. We must avoid making that mistake again so that our withdrawal from Iraq does not exacerbate existing problems or create new ones.

I will continue to work with my colleagues to demand a swift and safe withdrawal of our U.S. forces from Iraq, and I encourage all of my colleagues to support this measure.

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