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February 23, 2006
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Pictured:
Congressman Rothman answers questions after his speech calling for
the withdrawal of all troops.
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More than 2,200 American
servicemen and women have been killed in Iraq. 16,000 have been wounded.
More than 100,000 innocent Iraqi civilians have lost their lives. $250 billion
of U.S. taxpayer dollars have been spent. Saddam sits in prison, but the
pacification and reconstruction of Iraq have been a failure.
80% of Iraqis strongly
oppose our continuing presence. 45% believe that deadly attacks against
our troops are justified. This three year war has now exhausted our military,
hurt our War on Terrorism and strained our economy. It is time for a new
strategy. It is time for us to take our troops out of Iraq.
After September 11th,
along with most members of Congress and the majority of the American people,
I believed President Bush when he told us that terrorist acts by Saddam
Hussein's agents were "imminent," would involve "weapons
of mass destruction," and would take place "on American soil."
I accepted his counsel that all of these terrible things would be prevented
if we removed Saddam Hussein from power. Now we know that Saddam possessed
no weapons of mass destruction and there was no such imminent threat. If
I knew at the time of my vote what I know now, I would never have supported
the President's invasion of Iraq.
President Bush swore
to us that our liberating troops would be welcomed by the Iraqi people,
improve their overall quality of life and win their hearts and minds. He
also told us the war would be short-lived, aided by our allies and paid
for with Iraqi oil. None of these statements or predictions turned out to
be true. It is clear, I regret to say, that President Bush has no credibility
on the subject of Iraq.
President Bush's latest
claim, that our continuing presence in Iraq is a vital part of fighting
our War on Terrorism, is also not believable. After all, the attacks on
our troops in Iraq are not coming primarily from al-Qaeda. There are only
750 to 1,000 al-Qaeda amidst the 26 million people of Iraq. The violence
directed at U.S. troops comes overwhelmingly from an insurgency that is
comprised of native Iraqis. Once the American soldiers leave, not only will
we prevent further killing and wounding of our servicemen and women, but
we will remove the stimulus for the local Iraqi and worldwide incitement
against America as an "occupier." Also, if the U. S. withdraws
without further delay, the Iraqi people will no longer tolerate the presence
or involvement of any foreign fighters. Perhaps then the leaders of the
Shias, Sunnis and Kurds will come together to lead their people to peace
under the protection of the 200,000 Iraqi troops we've already trained.
I therefore believe
the U.S. should withdraw all its forces from Iraq in an orderly, but rapid
manner. I agree with the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee
on Defense and decorated combat veteran, Congressman John Murtha (D-Pa),
that within six months, depending on the most current timetable for ensuring
the safe withdrawal of our troops, most American forces now in Iraq should
be redeployed to the United States. The remaining soldiers should be placed,
as a quick-reaction force, in friendly neighboring countries and nearby
U.S. bases. They will be in a position to thwart any dangerous foreign involvement
or flare-ups of armed conflict that could seriously destabilize the fledgling
Iraqi democracy.
We can continue to assist
the Iraqi people in fashioning a democratic governing authority under the
rule of law--if they will allow us. But let us take away the provocation
of an American military presence. This will give them a better chance to
come together, solve their differences and end their civil war. It will
also save many American and Iraqi lives.
If we chart this new
and better course, our country will also have more resources to invest in
greater U.S. border and port security and we can redouble our efforts and
those of our allies to destroy al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and elsewhere. And
we can begin to rebuild our much-depleted U. S. military and refocus our
attention on all the other threats that face us, in this still very dangerous
world.
It is time for a new
strategy. It is time for us to take our troops out of Iraq.
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