Getting out means getting out

By U.S. Senator Russ Feingold

Daily Kos
July 13, 2007

With Senate Democrats increasingly united, it looks as if for the first time, a majority of the Senate will support binding legislation with a firm end date for our open-ended military presence in Iraq, something I first called for, with support and input from so many of you, back in August of 2005.

This would be a watershed moment but we all agree that it has taken far too long to get here. The binding language in Levin-Reed makes this amendment significant and I will support it. But there are aspects of the amendment that are cause for concern – in particular, the exception for "providing logistical support" to Iraqi troops could give the administration too much wiggle room to "repackage" its failed military mission instead of redeploying our troops.

I understand people’s concerns about this Administration trying to exploit even narrow exceptions in any legislation ending our involvement in the Iraq war. A running theme of this Administration is to twist the law in its favor rather than uphold the law on behalf of the American people. Congress must not be vague with its legislation. Right now, the bill I introduced in April along with Majority Leader Harry Reid, which is supported by a majority of Senate Democrats, requires the vast majority of our troops in Iraq to be safely redeployed by March 31, 2008, after which funding for the war would end. The bill currently provides three narrow exceptions – protection of U.S. facilities and personnel, training and equipping Iraqi security forces, and conducting targeted operations against al Qaeda and other international terrorist organizations. It has always been my belief and my intention that these exceptions would require a minimal U.S. presence in Iraq and I have consistently said as much. But I’ve been hearing a lot of speculation that the exception for training and equipping in particular could be a loophole the Administration would try to exploit. Passing legislation that allows tens of thousands of American troops to remain in Iraq won’t be good enough. So as I continue to push my legislation to end funding for the war, I will also tighten it to try to remove any possibility that the President could continue keeping large numbers of U.S. troops in Iraq.

Until we begin significantly reducing our military presence in Iraq and thereby eliminate the perception that we are in Iraq as an occupying force, no political solution will be reached, no multinational effort will advance, and the violence and bloodshed will only continue. And America’s troops will continue to put their lives on the line for a policy that is weakening, not strengthening, our country in the global campaign against al Qaeda.



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