WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Lois Capps released the following statement on the testimony from General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker regarding the Bush Administration’s Iraq Policy:

“While I appreciate the lifelong service of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker to this country, their testimony yesterday changed nothing – President Bush’s war in Iraq has been a historic blunder and we must remove our troops as quickly as possible. 

“The testimony of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker provided few clear answers and raised more troubling questions about our country’s continued involvement in Iraq.  Indeed, President Bush continues to advocate an open-ended, unconditional commitment to fight a war that never should have been fought in the first place.  While the President continues to move the goal posts he established to measure success in Iraq, the facts on the ground speak for themselves – violence continues to plague Iraq and the surge has failed to bring the needed political progress.   Despite this reality, the President remains committed to passing his greatest policy failure off to his successor.

“The President’s misadventure in Iraq has come at a high cost for our country.  The heaviest burden has fallen on our brave military men and women and their families, and our country owes them a debt that must not be ignored.  The war has also placed an unacceptable burden on the military as an institution, pushing it to the breaking point and severely compromising our national security. 

“This needless war and its potential $3 trillion cost have also drained our treasury and helped weaken our economy.  As millions of Americans struggle to make ends meet, billions of taxpayer dollars that could have gone to investments in improving health care, caring for our veterans or paying down our national debt have instead been spent on this tragic war. 

“At the end of the day, nothing can obscure the fact that this war was a mistake in the first place and its execution has been endlessly mismanaged by President Bush.  I continue to believe that we must withdraw our troops from Iraq.”

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Pictured above: (center) Congresswoman Capps meets with Central Coast firefighters to discuss emergency preparedness.