Obey Says War is Hurting the Country Both Abroad and at Home

Press Release

Obey Says War is Hurting the Country Both Abroad and at Home

WAUSAU, WI - "The war in Iraq is hurting us in the international community, it's hurting us here at home, and it's clear that the President has absolutely no idea how to get our troops out," Seventh District Congressman Dave Obey (D-WI) told a crowd at the University of Wisconsin Marathon County today.

"When you strip away the fog, all the President has proposed is a blueprint to get us back, six months from now, to the same place we were in Iraq six months ago as far as troop levels are concerned," said Obey, who has been a leader of Congressional efforts to force a change in policy towards Iraq. "That is not part of a strategy to withdraw troops - they would have to do that anyway, because we don't have enough troops to sustain existing levels. It is part of a plan that will dump the critical decisions on the President's successor and leave us in an occupying position in Iraq for the next ten years. That's a strategy that will destroy what remaining influence and trust we have in that region and around the world."

Not only is the war gutting our international influence, it is also costing us here in America, Obey added. "Over the past five years, the Administration has spent half a trillion dollars in Iraq while saying we can't afford to meet priorities here at home. Now the President wants to provide $50 billion in tax cuts for people who make over a million dollars a year and he wants $200 billion more for the war, paying for it all with borrowed money, yet he is insisting that we cut $16 billion from our investments in national priorities like education, healthcare, and medical research," he said.

"I don't think those are the priorities that will make this a stronger country, and I don't think the American people think so either," Obey concluded.

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