September 12, 2007
“Tonight the President will make his case for more of the same stay-the-course strategy that puts us on a path for at least 10 years of occupation in Iraq.
“It is time to call this what it is – an exit strategy for President Bush at the expense of our troops. It’s the President’s plan to run out the clock on his failed policy, to move the goalposts once again, so that he can sneak out the backdoor and leave the American people holding the bag.
“Well let me ask you: how many of our troops should die so the President can save face? How many billions of our tax dollars should we spend so the President can avoid admitting his policy has failed?
“It is clear he won’t take responsibility to end his failed policy, which means that members of Congress are going to have a choice to make.
“Are they going to stand with the President, and an open-ended occupation that sacrifices our troops’ lives so he can save face? Or are they going to act to bring his disastrous policy to a responsible – and long overdue–conclusion.
“The choice is simple. Congress should not provide another dime for the President’s failed policy. Instead, we should provide the money necessary to fully fund the safe, timely and responsible redeployment of troops and contractors from Iraq.”
Barbara Lee: Exit Plan for Bush Comes at the Expense of Our Troops
(Oakland, CA) – As President Bush prepares to announce that he will return the number of troops in Iraq to pre-surge levels by July of 2008 in a televised address to the nation, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) issued the following statement:“Tonight the President will make his case for more of the same stay-the-course strategy that puts us on a path for at least 10 years of occupation in Iraq.
“It is time to call this what it is – an exit strategy for President Bush at the expense of our troops. It’s the President’s plan to run out the clock on his failed policy, to move the goalposts once again, so that he can sneak out the backdoor and leave the American people holding the bag.
“Well let me ask you: how many of our troops should die so the President can save face? How many billions of our tax dollars should we spend so the President can avoid admitting his policy has failed?
“It is clear he won’t take responsibility to end his failed policy, which means that members of Congress are going to have a choice to make.
“Are they going to stand with the President, and an open-ended occupation that sacrifices our troops’ lives so he can save face? Or are they going to act to bring his disastrous policy to a responsible – and long overdue–conclusion.
“The choice is simple. Congress should not provide another dime for the President’s failed policy. Instead, we should provide the money necessary to fully fund the safe, timely and responsible redeployment of troops and contractors from Iraq.”
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