"President George W. Bush's plan is not working and the evidence of failure is mounting," said U.S. Rep. DeGette.  "President Bush announced his troop 'surge' six months ago. During that time about 600 troops have been killed, 3,000 have been wounded, and $60 billion has been spent.  The recently-released White House interim report shows there to have been unsatisfactory progress by the Iraqi government in meeting many of the benchmarks laid out by President Bush back in January."

H.R. 2956, the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act requires the Secretary of Defense to begin the reduction of the number of United States Armed Forces in Iraq to a limited presence by April 1, 2008. DeGette has also cosponsored two pieces of legislation - the Tauscher and Obey Bills - aimed at ending our military involvement in Iraq.

"With respect to President Bush's political benchmarks, the Iraqi government has made unsatisfactory progress on all of them.  What this Iraqi civil war requires is an Iraqi political compromise, but the available evidence suggests that no one within the government is willing to make the sacrifices needed to make that happen.  Why should American soldiers continue to sacrifice under such circumstances?  Not one more drop of American blood should be shed in pursuit of President Bush's failed Iraq policy.
 
"Despite the views of the American public and the clear evidence on the ground that our continued military presence in Iraq is not the solution, President Bush stubbornly refuses to change course and bring our troops home.  Congress has the power and obligation to do what is right and force a new policy.  Passing H.R. 2956 is the first step on that road, and I encourage all of my colleagues to vote in favor of this reasoned legislation," concluded DeGette.

The July 15th Iraqi Benchmarks report released today shows the Iraqi government has failed to meet the political and economic benchmarks to achieve success. In the fifth year of the war, and after $450 billion spent, 3,600 American lives lost and more than 26,000 wounded, the country is demanding a new direction in Iraq.  In this report, the Administration concedes that while violence continues in Iraq, the Iraqi government has failed to meet key benchmarks endorsed by the President in January and political reconciliation is non-existent.

# # #