Washington, DC - Today, Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA) issued the following statement on President Bush’s impending call for increasing American troop presence in Iraq:

“Tonight, President Bush will call for a drastic increase in American forces in Iraq. As with the decision to go to war in the first place, this proposed escalation is a fundamentally flawed course of action. As General John Abizaid, Commander of the U.S. Central Command, has plainly and openly stated, ‘more American forces prevent the Iraqis from doing more, from taking more responsibility for their own future.’ The bipartisan Iraq Study Group, convened by the President himself, has reached a similar conclusion.

“Rather than promote Iraqi sovereignty and bring about peace, more American boots on the ground heighten Iraqi dependence on the US. Since June, 2006, President Bush has twice increased America’s military forces in Iraq. Over the same period, the level of violence has dramatically increased.

“The sacrifice of tens of thousands of America’s youths – including 3,000 who have paid the ultimate price – must not be in vain. The President's proposal will escalate the war and subject our troops to increased danger, and is an affront to America's fighting men and women.

"I call on my Congressional colleagues to immediately assert our constitutionally mandated authority to serve as a check on the President’s handling of a conflict whose solution plainly lies in the diplomatic rather than the military realm.”