FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 04, 2006

CONTACT: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider 202-226-7616

Pelosi Statement on Iraq

Washington, D.C. – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on Iraq.

“The war in Iraq was a bad idea and it has been badly executed by Secretary Rumsfeld and the civilian leadership at the Pentagon. 

“It doesn’t matter to the Bush Administration how bad the situation is in Iraq, or how many respected Americans say that our strategy is not working, or that the leading military newspapers call for Secretary Rumsfeld to go, or that more than a dozen different intelligence agencies have said that that the war in Iraq is creating more terrorists than we had before.

“The President and his Rubber Stamp Republican Congress have promised not to change a thing.  They may have abandoned the ‘stay the course’ slogan, but Republicans are still fully committed to the ‘stay the course’ strategy.  

“It is long past time for a new direction in Iraq.”

President Bush and the Rubber Stamp Republican Congress are out of touch about what is happening on the ground in Iraq:

• Last week, President Bush said that the U.S. was winning in Iraq.
• This week, the U.S. Central Command judged the situation in Iraq to be near chaos, with “violence at all-time high, spreading geographically.” 
• Yesterday, Vice President Cheney says the Administration is going “full steam ahead” with its failed Iraq policy. 
•  Today, four highly respected military newspapers say of Secretary Rumsfeld, “His strategy has failed, and his ability to lead is compromised…Donald Rumsfeld must go.”

#  #  #

“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ”

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi