War in Iraq

Four years ago this fall, the United States Congress was struggling with a very difficult decision; whether or not to authorize President Bush to send our men and women into combat in Iraq. As I struggled with my decision, I listened to constituents in Michigan’s First Congressional District, I attended briefings at the Capitol and Pentagon held by Secretary Rumsfeld and others in the Bush Administration, and I met with President Bush at the White House to discuss my concerns.

Based on legal and moral principles, I believe that war with another country should only be declared if:

a)      if a nation directly attacks your country;
b)      if another nation is an accomplice in an attack on your country;
c)      if there is an immediate, imminent pending attack on your country; and,
d)      finally, if there is defiance of the international community.

At the time Congress granted President Bush the authority to use force in Iraq, it was clear that none of these conditions had been met. This, along with the lack of evidence that Iraq had significant weapons of mass destruction (WMD) capabilities, led me to vote against the resolution to use force in Iraq.

I stand behind my decision as we have learned that much of the information provided to Congress as a basis to go to war was false. President Bush has argued that Members of Congress saw the same intelligence information leading up to the war that he did. This is just not true. President Bush receives Presidential Daily Briefings (PDB’s) with information about the latest developments, including updates on classified intelligence. These PDB’s are not provided to Congress.

We know now that several of the intelligence items the President used to justify going to war were disproved in the PDB’s and the President apparently chose to ignore the updates. Perhaps the most glaring of these falsities is the argument that Iraq was attempting to purchase material from Niger to make nuclear bombs. That claim, of course, was false as Joe Wilson told the administration. In response, the White House staff leaked the undercover status of Mr. Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame, which led to an investigation resulting in the indictment of Vice President Cheney’s Chief of Staff, Scooter Libby for lying to the Special Prosecutor.

This war has destroyed much of the infrastructure in Iraq, killed 30,000 Iraqi civilians, created a rallying charge for Islamic extremists, incurred more than $200 billion in costs to our nation, and resulted in the death of at least 2,400 U.S. troops, as well as injuries to more than 17,800, as of May 1, 2006.

What have we received in return? A frightening number of Iraqis feel it is ok to kill U.S. soldiers. Insurgent attacks have increased more than 4 fold over the past year. Iraqi oil production, which was supposed to fund much of the reconstruction efforts, is BELOW the level of production before we invaded the country, and the United Sates has record high gas prices, deficits, and debt. We are being asked to continue to pay for the war in Iraq, while cutting funding for food stamps, student loans, Medicaid, and other vital programs here at home.

After months of internal squabbling, the Iraqi Parliament has selected new leadership for their country. Now is the time to tell the Iraqi people and their new leaders that they must become self sufficient. They must take control of their country while the United States military continues to assist them in the interim. However, it has been almost three years since the fall of Baghdad and it is time for Iraqis to take over. Therefore, I am calling on President Bush to implement a plan to withdraw our troops from Iraq within one year. I have signed a “discharge petition” with over 100 of my colleagues in attempt to bring debate about requiring the President to develop and implement a withdrawal plan to the House floor. A “discharge petition” is a procedural move used to bring a piece of legislation to the floor at a quicker rate. After the petition is filed, 218 House members must sign the petition in order for the bill to be brought to the floor for consideration. Given the continuing loss of life in Iraq, this petition is necessary because the Republican Leadership has blocked the possibility for any real discussion about a plan to bring our men and women home from Iraq.

The United States has provided Iraq and its people with regime change and assisted them with drafting a new framework for democratic government. We have sacrificed with blood, sweat, and tears. Families in the United States have given their sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers so the Iraqis can have a democratic future. It is time the Iraqis take control of their country so our nation can focus on domestic issues. Our troops who have been deployed, have honorably served our country and it is time for them to return to their families.

Please know that I will continue to monitor the situation in Iraq closely.

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From the Floor of the House

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