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“ Democratic priorities are clear: we will fight to get the economy back on track, we will create jobs, and we will help unemployed workers. ” |
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Pelosi: Tonight, The President Must Present a Strategy for Success in Iraq
Washington, D.C. – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi joined Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania at a news conference this afternoon to discuss the war in Iraq and the questions Democrats would like President Bush to answer in his speech tonight. Below are Pelosi’s remarks:
“Tonight, the President addresses the American people on Iraq. After 27 months of war, nearly 1,750 Americans have been killed, thousands more wounded – some of them permanently – and more than $200 billion tax payer’s dollars have been spent. With this loss of life and limb, and dollars, as well as our reputation, the President owes the American people some answers.
“It’s time for the President to level with the American people. Truth and trust are vital to government, but never as crucial as when we put our men and women in harm’s way.
“Tonight, the President must present a strategy for success. He needs to answer the question of how Iraq is to be made stable and secure. What is his plan to send to Congress, including the indicators by which Congress, and the American people, can measure whether progress is being made toward the accomplishment of that goal?
“Regardless of the differences that many of us had about whether we should go to war – and those differences are fundamental and they are deep – the judgment now is about how this war is being executed and whether we agree with the policy or not. There are grave and serious questions across the board about the execution of the war.
“Our men and women in uniform deserve the answers more than the American people. We respect and admire our troops, and are grateful to them for their patriotism, for their courage, and for the sacrifices they are willing to make for our country. But the sacrifices made by our troops are not being met by the level of planning that they deserve.
“Our commitment to Iraq does not have to be measure by timetables, nor should it be open ended. But we must have benchmarks. And the President should give them to us tonight, and how he plans to reach them. The sacrifices of our country, particularly our men and women in uniform and their families, are too substantial to continue without a way to determine how those sacrifices are advancing the goal of successfully concluding the mission in Iraq.
“The American people now know that the war in Iraq is not making our country safer.
“Tonight, let us forget the rosy scenarios, and reminders of how ‘tough the job is.’ Let us not divide our country by saying who is for the troops and who is not. We are all for the troops and we view our support for the troops to be measured by not only the equipment and intelligence we give them, but by a level of planning to meet their level of sacrifice.
“Tonight, we need some straight talk on what is going on in Iraq. There is nobody to set the standard for that than my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, who serves as the senior Democrat on the Defense Appropriations Committee, John Murtha.”
“ 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
