Following Meeting with President Bush, Whitehouse Again Speaks Out for Change in Iraq
Press Release
Following Meeting with President Bush, Whitehouse Again Speaks Out for Change in Iraq
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) again urged President Bush to change course in Iraq in a speech on the Senate floor earlier today. Last week, Whitehouse, along with a delegation of members that traveled to Iraq last month, met privately with President Bush in the Oval Office and shared his frustration at the President's failure to seek a new direction in the now four-year-old war.
"The question of what to do in Iraq is not a political fight between President Bush and the Democrats in Congress," Whitehouse said. "It's a struggle between the President and the will of the American people. It's long past time their voices were heard."
Whitehouse traveled to Iraq in mid-March as a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. While in the country, he met with U.S. troops, including Rhode Islanders stationed in Fallujah; American military commanders, including General David Petraeus; and high-ranking Iraqi officials.
Whitehouse joined a majority in the Senate to pass critical war funding legislation that would support U.S. forces in Iraq and compel President Bush to begin redeployment of American troops from Iraq within four months, with a goal of having all combat troops out of Iraq by March 31, 2008. Whitehouse is also a cosponsor of legislation introduced by Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and supported by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that will limit funding for the war after April 2008 to counter-terrorism operations, training, and force protection.
Whitehouse began his remarks with an expression of sorrow at yesterday's horrific shooting at Virginia Tech. "We may never know why it happened," said Whitehouse. "What we know for certain is that in our shared grief, we will find shared resolve: to care for the wounded, comfort the families and friends of those who died, support the University and its community, and search for answers, in hope that this tragedy may never be repeated."
Whitehouse's remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below.
Floor Statement of Sheldon Whitehouse
On the War in Iraq
April 17, 2007
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, as I come to the floor this morning to share my concerns about this country's disastrous policies in Iraq, our nation is mourning the unimaginable loss of 32 people in the tragic and senseless shootings at Virginia Tech.
The thoughts and prayers of every American are with the victims of this horrific act, the deadliest shooting episode this country has ever seen.
We are only just beginning to learn exactly what happened yesterday - and we may never know why it happened.
What we know for certain is that in our shared grief, we will find shared resolve: to care for the wounded, comfort the families and friends of those who died, support the University and its community, and search for answers, in hope that this tragedy may never be repeated.
I've been a member of the Senate now for just over 100 days. I'm here, and many of my freshmen colleagues are here, because the people of Rhode Island, along with millions of other people across this country, looked at the war in Iraq and saw something that needed to change.
They saw hundreds of billions of dollars spent, much of it wasted on reconstruction contracts that were sloppily-managed or ill-advised. They saw one after another in a succession of retired generals protesting the failed strategy in Iraq and arguing for a different course. They saw reports that the Bush administration had misused and politicized our national intelligence services, to press a case for war that did not exist. They read books chronicling a heartbreaking series of mistakes and misjudgments. And they saw tens of thousands of American soldiers returning home grievously injured - and more than three thousand men and women who will never return.
The country saw one of the greatest foreign policy disasters in our nation's history, and demanded a new direction. The American people voted for change. They were sincere, sober, and correct in their judgment, and this new Congress listened - but President Bush did not. Instead of committing to redeploy our troops from Iraq, the President chose to escalate the conflict. And now, instead of working with this new Congress to forge a new strategy worthy of the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, the President and Vice President are on the attack - not against the Iraqi leaders slow-walking us through the conflict, but against the American people who have rightly questioned their failing policy.
The question is this: how much longer will the President refuse to listen?
Since joining the Senate just over 100 days ago, I've worked to put pressure on the Bush Administration to redeploy our troops from Iraq. In mid-March, as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I traveled to Iraq to get a firsthand look at the situation on the ground, see the hard work of our dedicated troops, and talk with our military commanders and Iraqi political officials.
In Baghdad, our delegation met with several of the officers leading America's military engagement in Iraq, including General David Petraeus, Lt. General Raymond Odierno, and Lt. General Martin Dempsey, as well as members of our U.S. Embassy country team. We also met with Mahmud al-Mashhadani, speaker of the Iraqi parliament, and National Security Minister Shirwan al-Waili. In my capacity as a member of the Committee, I also met members of our nation's intelligence staff and their Iraqi counterparts.
In Fallujah, we spoke with Gen. Walter E. Gaskin, Marine commander in Anbar province, and other commanders of the Marine Expeditionary Force. I met three brave Rhode Islanders there:
Kristie St. Jean from Woonsocket, Christopher Tilson from Providence and Anthony Paulo from Westerly, who are serving our nation with dedication, courage, and honor.
On our return, we traveled through Germany to visit Landstuhl Regional Medical Center at Ramstein Air Base, where our soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen badly injured in Iraq and Afghanistan are med-evac'd to receive critical medical care before their return home. Major Andrew Risio, who hails from Ashaway, Rhode Island, is helping provide care to our wounded soldiers in that facility.
Mr. President, the young men and women I met with in Iraq, and their families, have made tremendous sacrifices, and their expert performance and can-do attitude reinforce my pride in the American spirit. The security posture we maintain around our military bases is strong, and our troops are working hard to secure the cities and countryside of Iraq. The work of our intelligence and special operations personnel, which often runs non-stop through the night, is remarkable, and exhibits a level of professionalism in which every American can be very confident.
The achievements of our forces in Iraq are serious - and here is what impressed me from our trip: so is their commitment that the Iraqis must assume responsibility for the security and governance of their country. In nearly every briefing, at every level of command, the message came loud and clear that our military is highly focused on accomplishing a handover of security responsibilities so as to bring our troops home.
As a young soldier in a mess hall told me, the Iraqis "won't stand up until we start to stand back."
And I do believe the Iraqis need more motivation to stand up. There is key legislation the Iraqi parliament must pass that our military commanders believe is necessary if this surge is to succeed. Critical measures to facilitate provincial elections; regulation and revenue-sharing for the oil industry; reverse de-Baathification; and restrict sectarian militias have stalled. Iraq must take action to move this legislation forward and step up its security presence. That will require real commitment and urgency, and it would be putting it mildly to say I was not reassured by the signals I received from our meetings with Iraqi officials. There is a severe disconnect between the urgency of our generals about this legislation, and the absence of urgency, or energy, on the part of Iraqi officials.
One soldier I met put it in simple terms: "If your parents are willing to pay for the movies so you don't have to use your own money, or if you can get your big sister to do your homework for you, who wants that to stop?"
Mr. President, it does have to stop, and this Congress is taking action to make that clear. I was proud to vote with a majority of the Senate to pass binding, bipartisan legislation to require the safe redeployment of our brave troops, beginning in 120 days with the goal of having the vast majority of our troops redeployed from Iraq by the end of March. I'm also a cosponsor of the recently introduced Feingold-Reid legislation to continue to put pressure on the Bush administration to safely redeploy our troops.
Only the kind of pressure a decision to redeploy creates will provide the motivation needed for Iraq to take the necessary steps to assume responsibility for its own governance and security. An announcement that our troops will be leaving will encourage the Iraqis to step up and take their security seriously, discourage the insurgents, and send a message to the world community that stability in Iraq will no longer be the responsibility of America alone.
Last week, I had the opportunity to take that message directly to the Oval Office.
In a meeting with President Bush and several of our colleagues who had recently traveled to Iraq, I urged him that to announce a redeployment and a change of course was the strongest force in his hands. I also gave the President letters sent to me from Rhode Islanders with family members serving in Iraq. Those messages said loudly and clearly that it is time to bring our troops home.
But rather than acting to change course, the President keeps playing political games. He has threatened to veto legislation this Congress passed to provide critically-needed funding for our troops in the field. In our meeting last week, he said he was looking forward to a "classic political showdown."
The question of what to do in Iraq is not a political fight between President Bush and the Democrats in Congress. It's a struggle between the President and the will of the American people. It's long past time their voices were heard.
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