(Washington, DC) -- Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz made the following statement after President Bush announced his desire to escalate the Iraq War:
"Tonight President Bush informed us that he will be escalating the Iraq War by sending more than 20,000 of our armed forces to Iraq. This is not the first time that we have heard from the President about the challenges facing us in Iraq, and this is not the first time that he has told our nation that he has a plan to succeed in Iraq. What the President did not address or acknowledge was the strain that the Iraq War is having on our military and the men and women that serve in our armed forces.
"While President Bush acknowledged that mistakes have been made in Iraq, he failed to explain how his new strategy will succeed when his past strategies have failed. Unfortunately, it is the men and women of our armed forces and their families that have paid the heaviest price for the President's failures in Iraq.
"This past July President Bush stated: 'General Casey will make the decisions as to how, as to, as to how many troops we have there. He'll decide how best to achieve victory and the troop levels necessary to do so.' As the top commander in Iraq, General Casey did not endorse an increase in troop levels. General Casey is now being replaced by Lt. General Petraeus and President Bush is pushing to escalate the Iraq War.
"The President has failed to convince many current and former military commanders of the need for additional troops and I believe he has failed to convince the American public. We must have a full debate on a war that has long outgrown the patience and understanding of the American people as well as the original authorization given to the President by Congress."
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