Rep. Waters Deems President's Meetings to Craft a New Direction' in Iraq a Day Late and a Dollar Short' for America
Rep. Waters Deems President's Meetings to Craft a New Direction' in Iraq a Day Late and a Dollar Short' for America
U.S. Representative Maxine Waters (CA-35) today offered her assessment of the series of meetings President Bush held this week intended to help him develop a new policy for the Iraq war:
"After dismissing many of the recommendations made in the Iraq Study Group's report on the Iraq war, the President spent much of the past several days meeting with experts on the Middle East and the military seeking to develop a new policy which will turn the failed war in Iraq around. I am pleased that he is seeking their advice, but it is a day late and dollar short - especially for the many Americans who lost their lives in this war."
"Since the war began, the Progressive community and those opposed to the war have been routinely criticized not only for opposing the war but for not offering a plan in return. It is clear that the President did not have a plan for this war and is now desperately trying to play catch up. These meetings should have been held before the war - if they had, we might not be in this mess. Furthermore, Progressives have been offering the President advice on the war since 2003 - advice which he rejected."
"The President and neo-conservatives in his Administration have mismanaged this war and have caused untold death, destruction and damage to Iraq and its people. The war has also severely damaged our military - for example, at least two-thirds of the U.S.'s Army units were rated not ready for deployment. This war has destabilized the Middle East and caused Iran and North Korea to restart their nuclear programs and encouraged other nations to pursue nuclear weapons."
"The war is a failure and we must begin the process of bringing our troops home. There is no other option that will restore our credibility in the world, restore our military's readiness and bring stability to Iraq or the Middle East."
Representative Maxine Waters is Chair of the 73-member Out of Iraq' Congressional Caucus. The Caucus was founded in June 2005 to pressure the Bush Administration to conclude the Iraq war as soon as possible.
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ca35_waters/PR061214_iraqdaylate.html