Press Releases
Contact:
Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami
202-226-7616
For Immediate Release
06/13/2007
Pelosi and Reid -- Call on President to Listen to the Will of the American People on Iraq
Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid today sent the following letter to President
Bush calling on him
to reconsider his opposition to Congressional proposals that would limit the
U.S. mission in Iraq, begin the phased redeployment of U.S. forces, and bring
the war to a responsible end.
June 13, 2007
The President
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
Last November, the American people overwhelming made
clear their desire to bring the war in Iraq to a responsible
end. Yet, at the start of this year, you announced a substantial escalation of
our military presence in Iraq. This so-called
“surge” was clearly at odds with past experiences in Iraq, the wishes of the
American people, and the advice of many senior military leaders, including
General Douglas Lute, your “war czar” nominee. Nevertheless, you proceeded to
call up thousands of additional National Guardsmen and Reservists, extend the
tours of tens of thousands of brave troops already in Iraq, and plunge our forces even
deeper into Iraq’s civil war.
As many had foreseen, the escalation has failed to
produce the intended results. The increase in U.S. forces has had little
impact in curbing the violence or fostering political reconciliation. It has
not enhanced America’s national
security. The unsettling reality is that instances of violence against Iraqis
remain high and attacks on U.S. forces have
increased. In fact, the last two months of the war were the deadliest to date
for U.S. troops.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s political leaders
have done little to unite their nation and diffuse sectarian tensions. Recent
reports indicate that the Iraqi government is unlikely to enact any of the
legislative benchmarks which you endorsed in your January 10 speech. While our
troops and their families are required to make greater sacrifices on behalf of
the Iraqi people, Iraq’s political and
military leaders are unlikely to meet any of the standards for measuring
progress which only a few months ago were thought not only possible, but
essential, to achieve. On June 12, the former head of the US training operation in
Iraq, General Dempsey,
gave an assessment of the capability of Iraqi security forces that concluded
that after years of effort and massive expenditure of resources, Iraqi units
remain uneven in their quality and reliability.
Congress on a bipartisan basis sent you legislation in
April that set forth a new strategy for Iraq that responded to the wishes of
the American people and better served America’s national
security interests. This legislation, which you unfortunately chose to veto,
was consistent with the approach advocated by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group
late last year. That
strategy called for transitioning the role of U.S. forces away from policing a civil
war to missions that are consistent with our strategic interests, namely
fighting terrorism, training Iraqis, and protecting U.S. forces. The strategy
also would have begun the phased redeployment of our troops from
Iraq so that Iraqis could
take responsibility for their own security.
In light of the additional evidence since your veto that
your plan is not working, it is clear that a course correction in
Iraq is needed. That is
also the view of a substantial majority of the American people. Rather than
respond with a new plan immediately, Administration officials as well as
Republican congressional leaders suggest that your flawed Iraq strategy not be revisited until
September when General Petraeus is scheduled to provide Congress with a progress
report on Iraq. The only step you
have proposed in the interim is to divest your National Security Advisor of
control over Iraq policy and create a “war czar”
position, an act that has only served to create further confusion and concerns
about your plans for Iraq.
The American people cannot and should not have to wait
until later this year for changes in your flawed Iraq policy. There is an
obligation to act now. That is why we intend to again send you legislation that
would limit the U.S. mission in Iraq, begin the phased redeployment of
U.S. forces, and bring the
war to a responsible end. These are goals consistent with both the national
security of the United States and the will
of the American people. We respectfully request that you reconsider your
previous opposition to proposals that would accomplish these goals, and work
with us to give our troops a strategy worthy of their sacrifice. We look
forward to discussing these issues with you when we meet at the White House
later today to discuss stability in the Middle East. Thank you for your attention to
our concerns.
Sincerely,
Harry Reid
Nancy Pelosi
Majority
Leader Speaker
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