Washington, DC - On April 9, 2003, Baghdad fell to our modern military. Four days later, Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit was taken by the United States Marines, and two days after that, coalition leaders declared the Iraq War effectively over.

Iraq’s government was removed from power and its leader was tried, convicted and executed by the new, freely elected democratic government.

Since the end of the initial phase of the war four years ago our mission in Iraq has turned into one of policing the country and trying to stop warring militias and factions that have arisen out of the administration’s lack of a plan for post-war Iraq. Our veterans are serving more tours with less rest between them. I spoke with the grandparents of one particular soldier in Houston recently who had welcomed their grandson home in February after his 15-month tour, only to learn this month that he will be leaving for the war again in August.

It is time to let Iraq’s government know that we will be leaving and when, so they can prepare to take responsibility for their own country. The Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act, passed recently by the House, is a step in that direction.

We have suffered nearly 4,000 dead and 26,000 wounded American service members, 12,000 of whom were so injured they couldn’t return to action -- not to mention nearly 1,000 dead contractors, over 200 dead reporters and other members of the media, and tens of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians.

Following is the statement I gave on the floor of the House of Representatives.

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee for allowing me to speak.

"Before I get into my prepared remarks, part of the resolution, if my colleagues would go to page 5 of the resolution, says as part of the justification required, the President shall, at a minimum, address whether it is necessary for the Armed Forces to carry out the following missions: protecting U.S. diplomatic facilities and U.S. citizens, including Armed Forces who are engaged in carrying out other missions; serving in roles consistent with customary diplomatic positions; but also, engaging in actions to disrupt and eliminate al Qaeda and its affiliated organizations in Iraq.

"So while I sat here on the floor listened and heard, "we are bailing out of attacking al Qaeda," we are not doing that. This resolution says we will still be there. The President has to certify, though, that is what we are doing. We are not shoring up the Iraqi Government; we are fighting al Qaeda, who brought us September 11. So anybody who says we are leaving is just wrong.

"Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution and this legislation, and thank Chairman Skelton for his work on the bill. Like Chairman Skelton, I want to thank our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines and their families who are serving our country.

"I have stated before, we must let the Iraqi Government know our commitment is not open-ended. I have not supported efforts for immediate withdrawal, but this bill, just like our first supplemental sent to the President, which he vetoed, lets the Iraqi Government know that they need to make some tough choices to stabilize their country within the next several months.

"It also gives our administration time to have a comprehensive strategy in Iraq, and allows the troops to remain to protect our diplomatic facilities and fight al Qaeda, and training and equipping the Iraqi security forces.

"As this legislation states, we give the President the authority to use the Armed Forces to defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by the Iraqi government at that time. But we won that battle. The government was removed. The power and its leader indicted, tried and convicted, and executed by the newly elected, now-democratic government of Iraq.

"This bill will bring our troops home by April 1 of next year--that will be more than 5 years since the war began. U.S. taxpayers have spent billions of dollars, and thousands of troops have given their lives to bring security and stability to Iraq.

"While the current Iraqi government has been organizing and security forces have been training, our forces have been responsible for every facet of security in Iraq. Our troops defeated Saddam's Army, worked to control the country, policed Iraq's streets, protected the transitional and elected governments, and trained Iraq security forces.

"Our military has given the Iraqi government, the Iraqi security forces, and the Iraqi people every opportunity to have a stable, democratic country. It is time to let the Iraqi people know that 5 years is long enough--they must take responsibility for the future of their country.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill to bring our troops home in a safe, responsible timeframe.”