Congressman Faleomavaega announced today that he has invited Governor Togiola to attend President Bush’s State of the Union address.  The President will deliver his address tonight before a joint session of Congress in the US Capitol at 9 pm EST which will be broadcast by all major networks. 

“Each Member of Congress only gets one ticket to this historic event and I am delighted that Governor Togiola is in Washington and can attend tonight’s event with me where President Bush will speak about important issues he feels should be brought to the attention of Congress and our nation.”

“One of the most important issues we are now facing is the President’s latest proposal to send an additional 20,000 troops to Iraq,” Faleomavaega said.  “The President’s proposal has created a lot of controversy among Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate.” 

“The problem I have with the President’s proposal is that I cannot see how adding 20,000 soldiers will provide security for a city like Baghdad which has a population of 6 million people.  In my opinion, it’s just too little, too late.”

“In fact, I go back to what General Eric Shinseki said a couple of years ago at the time when he was Chief of Staff of the Army.  He stated that we would need several hundred thousands soldiers to really take control of Iraq.  In response to his remarks, he was severely reprimanded by former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, and others from the Administration, who believed we could get the job done with 150,000 troops or less.”

“Now it turns out General Shinseki was right and the Administration was wrong.  The Administration based its decision to go to war on faulty intelligence and didn’t send enough troops to begin with and now we have created more tension in the Middle East than ever before.”

“Today, there are constant killings going on between the Shiites and the Sunnis.  The Shiites represent about 60% of Iraq’s total population of 25 million, and the Sunnis represent about 20% of the population.  In other words, we have a civil war on our hands and our top priority should be to get our troops home.  I believe Democrats and Republicans will come together and do what is right for America’s military men and women.”

“Given that American Samoa has a high stake in the outcome of this war, I am pleased that Governor Togiola and I will be together at tonight’s State of the Union to represent our military men and women.  Governor Togiola and I stand by our troops and we pray for a resolution that will bring them safely home,” Faleomavaega concluded.