WASHINGTON, D.C.  -- Lt. Gen. William Odom, former Director of the National Security Agency and Dr. Christopher Prebble, head of the CATO Institute’s foreign policy section joined U.S. Representatives Lynn Woolsey (Petaluma), Walter Jones (NC), Wayne Gilchrest (MD), Neil Abercrombie (HI), Dennis Kucinich (OH), Marty Meehan (MA) and Barbara Lee (CA) in supporting legislation to announce support of an Iraq exit strategy.  The legislation, “Homeward Bound,” calls on President Bush to announce a timetable by the end of the 2005, for beginning the return of U.S. troops from Iraq by October 1, 2006.

Woolsey was the first Member of Congress to call for U.S. troops to return from Iraq by introducing H.Con.Res. 35 that calls on the President to immediately develop a plan for bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq.  On May 25, she led the first debate on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives regarding troop withdrawal.  The Woolsey Amendment received 128 votes - including the votes of five Republicans.   Most recently, she led an informal hearing on Capitol Hill where a panel of experts discussed strategies to achieve military disengagement while still playing a constructive role in the rebuilding of Iraqi society.

The following are Congresswoman Woolsey’s words as written for the “Homeward Bound” press conference on Capitol Hill:

“Good morning.  I want to thank Lieutenant General Odom and Dr. Prebble for joining us today.  Their appearance here, with a bipartisan group of members, demonstrates the broad support that exists for a military withdrawal from Iraq.

“Two and a half years, 2000 American lives and 200 billion dollars is enough.  Especially for a war whose rationale turned out to be a fraud, one that has ignited a vicious insurgency and made Americans less safe than they were before.   It’s time to support our troops by bringing them home to their families.

“No committee chairs were willing to exercise their oversight responsibilities on Iraq, so two weeks ago, I held the first Congressional hearing designed to explore Iraq exit strategies.

“We went beyond the “why” of troop withdrawal to discuss the “how”.  We heard from a broad range of Middle East scholars and military experts about how we can end the war while still playing a constructive role in the rebuilding of Iraqi society.

“All of us believe that we must remain engaged, but as a partner to a sovereign Iraq, not an occupying power.  Whatever the next steps are, they must not involve permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq, nor U.S. control of Iraqi oil.  The idea behind my hearing was to fill a policy vacuum, to jumpstart a conversation that the nation wants and deserves.

“The American people, two-thirds of whom favor partial or complete military withdrawal, are frankly way ahead of the government officials on this issue.  I figured it was about time we caught up.

“The Administration had no plan for how to conduct the war; they had no plan for securing the country once Saddam was deposed; and now they have no plan for a viable and compassionate exit strategy.

“So if they won’t do it, we’ll do it for them.  I am proud to join my colleagues in supporting H.J. Res. 55.  Our troops have sacrificed enough.  They deserve to be homeward bound."