STARK PARTICIPATES IN HEARING TO REMOVE TROOPS FROM IRAQ

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA, 13th) participated in a hearing on Capitol Hill exploring ways to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq.


Representative Stark (far right), along with Democratic colleagues, participates in a hearing exploring how to bring the U.S. soldiers home from Iraq.

A bipartisan panel of experts gave statements and took questions from Members of Congress, among the experts were a Middle East policy analyst, a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, a retired Marine Corps General, former U.S. Senator Max Cleland (GA), a former under secretary of the U.S. Air Force, and others.

“Today’s hearings confirmed what I’ve suspected for quite some time: leaving Iraq is the right thing to do and should no longer be delayed,” Stark said. “The War in Iraq has created a breeding ground for hate against the United States. It has cost this country nearly $300 billion in emergency spending and the lives of nearly 2,000 U.S. soldiers - not to mention more than 14,000 wounded American soldiers whose lives have been forever impaired. We have neither eliminated Al Qaeda, increased the security of the Iraqi people – 25,000 of whom have been killed since 2003 – or increased our security here at home. It is time to end this quagmire in Iraq and bring our troops home – and do so now.”

Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA, 6th) had requested hearings in the U.S. House International Relations Committee and the U.S. House Armed Services Committee to discuss plans to bring the troops home while helping the Iraqis regain control over their country and their future. Since these requests were ignored, she was forced to organize her own hearing.

Stark concluded, “I did not support invading Iraq, but once President Bush chose to do so I felt it was important to wait before I publicly sought withdrawal. I hoped the change in the Iraqi government could potentially improve the lives of the Iraqi people. Unfortunately, President Bush, similar to his dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, has shown complete incompetence in carrying out that mission. It is time to bring our troops home.”