At a White House press conference earlier this week, the President, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, and commander of US troops in Iraq General Casey alluded to failures in current US policy in Iraq and suggested that changes in strategy are needed. Congressman Reyes urged House leaders to immediately conduct hearings and oversight of both the changes in Iraq that led to this shift in policy and also any new strategies under review by the Pentagon.
Congressman Reyes sent the attached letter demanding that the House Armed Services Committee not abdicate their crucial oversight responsibilities during the extended October Congressional recess.
October 13, 2006
The Honorable Duncan Hunter
Chairman
Armed Services Committee
2120 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Hunter and Ranking Member Skelton:
I write to urge you to immediately convene open or closed hearings regarding recent public statements about our nation's military operations in Iraq. At a press conference earlier this week, President George Bush, CENTCOM Commander George Casey, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld all indicated that they expect to see changes in Iraq policy over the coming months in response to current failures. None of these leaders has indicated which policies they consider to be failed or what changes in strategy may be in the works.
It is critical that Members of the Armed Services Committee have the opportunity to view the intelligence and analysis that prompted a major shift in national security policy. Besides seeing this evidence firsthand and having the chance to make our own independent assessment, we must question top ranking military and civilian leaders about their plans.
In addition to understanding the evidence upon which this policy change was based, it is also vital that we examine what changes in troop levels and other actions are under consideration by the Department of Defense and Central Command. As the Committee charged with oversight of Operation Iraqi Freedom, we must know what options are under review so that we can assess whether the proposed course of action is in the best interest of our nation and also to ensure that the resources we have match the resources we may need.
Although the House of Representatives is in recess, the Armed Services Committee does not and should not abdicate our oversight responsibility. It is imperative that we convene a meeting of our Committee to get answers to these critical questions. We owe it to our troops and their families, and we owe it to our nation to ensure that we are pursuing the best course of action in Iraq.
Thank you for your consideration of this request and also for your service to our nation.
Sincerely,
Silvestre Reyes
Member of Congress
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