Responsible Redeployment from Iraq

Like so many Americans, I believe our soldiers in Iraq have performed magnificently. They have endured brutal conditions. They have met every challenge. And they have displayed an unbreakable spirit, marked by courage, skill, and quiet resolve.

We have asked them to do so much. It's time to bring them home.

Overview

• I voted against the Bush Administration's preemptive invasion of Iraq in 2003 because I believed we were rushing into war based on shaky intelligence and without a clear plan or clear mission for the aftermath of toppling Saddam Hussein.
• I felt so strongly about the negative consequences of invading Iraq that I offered my own resolution in 2002 that would have slowed the rush to war and also an alternative strategy for disarming Saddam Hussein using "coercive inspections." Unfortunately, Congress rejected my approach and the Bush Administration launched the war -which we are still waging today.
• I do not support cutting off funding that will leave our troops at a material disadvantage while they are still in harm's way. I do support a veto-proof strategy for beginning the phased redeployment of troops along the lines recommended by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group (also known as the Baker-Hamilton Commission). I have also called for a diplomatic "surge" that will engage regional governments and contain the possibility of a wider conflict, and encourage political reconciliation and stability in Iraq.

I say this not as a partisan or even as a Democrat. Too much politics and partisanship have gotten wrapped up in the war. That's not what we need to bring our country together, to find the right path to bring out troops home.

I say it as an American who is deeply committed to our troops, who understands the critical role they play in keeping our families safe.

I've served as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, and I have been to Iraq twice. I've seen the classified briefings. I know the threat of terrorism is real.

But I also know that making us safe means making the right choices. Securing our borders. Increasing our port security. Making sure our armed forces are strong...and that when we send our troops into harm's way we should only do it based on good intelligence and good planning, with a clear mission, and the right equipment and resources to get the job done.

The Bush Administration failed this test when it launched the preemptive invasion of Iraq in 2003. That's a big reason why I voted against the Congressional Authorization giving President Bush a green light to wage war in 2002. I was not convinced that the Administration had the right rationale, the right allies or the right plan to avoid a costly quagmire in the Middle East. I felt so strongly that President Bush had it wrong, I even offered my own resolution to slow the rush to war, and make sure that only Congress has the Constitutional authority to take this nation to war.

I am strongly committed to an aggressive and effective national security strategy against al-Qaeda and the forces of Islamic terrorism. I fully supported military action in Afghanistan and have worked in Congress to increase the size and capacity of our armed forces. But I have never wavered in my view that it was a strategic miscalculation for the Bush Administration to make nation-building in Iraq the centerpiece of our war on terror. The invasion has diverted our focus from finding and killing Osama bin Laden, has empowered an increasingly dangerous Iran and has eroded the capacity of our Army to face other global challenges.

We must end our continued entanglement in this war, but we must do so in a way that inhibits the development of terrorist bases, manages to salvage our national reputation in the region and keeps faith with the humanitarian obligation we have to the Iraqi people.

Tanya's Story

My name is Tanya and I am a high school student in Colorado Springs. My parents are both going to Iraq in November and they will be gone for a year. My Idea is to bring the troops home, or at least limit the length of the tours. If they were only six months, my parents would not miss Christmas and my birthday.

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I believe that we should begin the process with a phased withdrawal that makes clear to the Iraqi political leadership that they alone have the ultimate power to settle their differences and build a stable society. America can help. The United Nations should help. But in the end, the solution to unending war in Iraq rests with the political will of the Iraqi people.

In the 110th Congress I have supported H.R. 2956, introduced by Rep. Ike Skelton that would begin the process of drawing down American forces this year. I have also authored my own legislation that would implement the bipartisan recommendations of the Iraq Study Group. If this legislation were to pass, I believe it would give Congress stronger leverage and a veto-proof majority to bring this war to an end before the Bush presidency is concluded next year.

Of course, Congress has the power to cut funding for the war and I have heard those who believe this is the only sure way to end the war. I understand their deep frustration. But we cannot leave our troops at a material disadvantage while they are in harm's way. That is why I have supported funding that has the goal of supplying our troops but also redeploying out of Iraq.

For many of us in Colorado, our men and women in uniform are more than heroes. They are our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters, our coworkers, neighbors, and friends.

We understand their sacrifice, and the sacrifice of the families they leave behind. We are fiercely proud of them. We are indebted to their service.

It's time for Democrats and Republicans to come together as Americans and responsibly end this war in Iraq. It's time to bring our troops home.