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WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Chief Deputy Whip, joined
her colleagues at a news conference today to demand the release of a secret
Pentagon report, which blames the Bush Administration,’s poor planning
for failures in post war Iraq. The members joined U.S. Representative
Robert Wexler (D-FL), chief sponsor of H.Res. 364, a resolution that would
force the Bush Administration to provide Congress with a copy of the report
prepared for the Joint Chiefs of Staff titled, “Operation Iraqi Freedom
Strategic Lessons Learned.”
Below
is Schakowsky’s statement:
“I
am honored to stand here today with my colleagues seeking the release of
the report titled “Operation Iraqi Freedom Strategic Lessons Learned.”
And I want to thank Congressman Robert Wexler for his leadership on this
issue.
“More
than 140,000 US soldiers are pinned down in Iraq, being shot at and ambushed
every day. Two more soldiers were killed in the past 24 hours.
Military families are telling us that their sons and daughters are in desperate
need of basic essentials. They send them packages with toilet paper,
socks, and sanitary napkins. And the Bush Administration’s reconstruction
efforts in Iraq are failing – the Iraqi people are without jobs, lights
or hope.
“It
is clear now that President Bush did not have an adequate plan to secure
and rebuilt Iraq, guarantee the safety of our troops, or secure an international
force to ease the burden. But don’t take our word for it. The
report we are calling on the President to release concluded, “The extent
of the planning required was underestimated. Insufficient U.S. government
assets existed to accomplish the mission.”
“The
Washington Times has obtained a copy of the secret report. In a September
3, 2003 story, the Washington Times wrote: “…the report lays the
blame for setbacks in Iraq on a flawed and rushed war-planning process
that ‘limited the focus’ for preparing for post-Saddam Hussein operations,”
and that “…planners were not given enough time to put together the best
blueprint for what is called Phase IV - the ongoing reconstruction of Iraq.”
“President
Bush approved the war plan in August of 2002, months before the first missile
was fired on Iraq and while refusing to acknowledge to the American people
that war was imminent. This plan has been a disaster, yet the President
refuses to level with the American people or hold those in his cabinet
responsible for our failures in Iraq. H.Res. 364 would ensure that
we have access to the Pentagon’s critical analysis of the Bush plan in
Iraq. Of course, President Bush can decide to release the report
without a Congressional mandate. Donald Rumsfeld and
Paul Wolfowitz could hand over the report to Congress on their way out
of town.” |
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