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Newsroom
August 2, 2006 DEMOCRATIC LEADERS LAY OUT A ROAD MAP FOR IRAQ
In Meeting with Iraq Study Group, Reid/ Durbin Call for New Direction in U.S. Iraq Policy
Washington, DC— In meetings today with the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, Senators Reid and Durbin set forth their concerns about current U.S. policy in Iraq and laid out five specific recommendations to change course. Noting that "Iraq has descended into a civil war", the Senators urged the Group to act expeditiously in providing a non-partisan way forward for the sake of U.S. troops, American taxpayers, and U.S. national security interests. The complete briefing memo and attachments submitted by Senators Reid and Durbin can be found here.
Members of the Iraq Study Group are:
James Baker, Co-Chair, Iraq Study Group
Lee Hamilton, Co-Chair, Iraq Study Group
Robert Gates
Vernon Jordan
Edwin Meese
Sandra Day O'Connor
Leon Panetta
William Perry
Charles Robb
Alan Simpson
The text of the memo is below.
Memorandum
To: Iraq Study Group
From: Harry Reid and Dick Durbin
Re: Iraq – Finding A Way Forward
Date: August 2, 2006
We are very grateful that you have taken on the important responsibility of helping policymakers find a way forward in Iraq. A free and stable Iraq is a goal that we all share. But we are terribly concerned that the Bush Administration’s current approach is not working, and is not sustainable. As you know, Iraq has exploded in sectarian violence. Close to 2600 Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice, while well over 18,000 have been wounded, a third of them grievously. According to the United Nations, nearly 6000 Iraqis died from sectarian warfare in May and June alone. Tens of thousands more have been displaced. In short, we believe Iraq has descended into a civil war, and our troops are stuck in the middle.
We will not belabor the litany of mistakes made by Administration officials in managing the war effort. From the failure to deploy sufficient numbers of troops at the start of the war, to the prison abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib, to the failure to plan for the post-war occupation, the mistakes are well known. What we need now, however, is a plan to move forward. That’s why your efforts are so important.
Below, we lay out five recommendations that provide an alternative to the current open-ended approach adopted by the Bush Administration. We think this is the best way to advance U.S. national security interests, stabilize Iraq, and provide relief to U.S. soldiers and taxpayers who have borne the burden of the Iraq effort. These recommendations were set forth in a letter we sent to the President on Sunday, July 30th. They were also embodied in a Senate Amendment offered to the 2007 Defense Authorization bill by Senators Carl Levin and Jack Reed, and in the “United States Policy in Iraq Act,” enacted by the Congress last year. The letter to the President, the Levin/Reed amendment, and the United States Policy in Iraq Act are all attached. We hope you find these suggestions and documents useful, and we look forward to working with you in the months ahead.
Recommendations:
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November 13:
The Senate will convene at 2:00 p.m. and will be in a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. The Senate may proceed to consideration of H.R. 5385, the Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act during Monday's session.
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