Barbara Lee Releases Statement on President Obama's Oval Office Address

For Immediate Release
 

Contact: Nicole Y. Williams
202-225-2661
 
Washington, DC – Tonight, Congresswoman Barbara Lee released this statement following President Barack Obama’s Oval Office address on the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq.
 
“I was pleased to hear President Obama make clear to the American people that it is time for the disastrous military occupation of Iraq to finally come to an end.
 
“When Congress authorized the use of military force in Iraq in 2002, my amendment to resolve misleading allegations of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq by working through peaceful mechanisms including negotiations and the resumption of inspections at the United Nations might have averted this costly war of choice.

“Unfortunately this amendment failed on a vote of 72-355, and I have worked tirelessly since that day to bring an end to this war and disavow the misguided doctrine of preemption.

“President Bush’s rush to war in Iraq has since cost this nation nearly $750 billion, the lives of more than 4,400 American soldiers and countless Iraqi civilians.
 
“And we still must assist Iraq in addressing the vacuum created by nearly seven years of violent conflict and military occupation.
 
“As a co-founder of the Out of Iraq Caucus I will continue to work to ensure that no permanent bases are built or maintained in Iraq and that the United States lives up to its timetable for withdrawal in order to bring all our men and women in uniform home as soon as possible.
 
“For nearly a decade the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have not only undermined our national security, but sacrificed much-needed investments here at home toward creating jobs, improving our public schools, ending our dependence upon foreign oil, and strengthening our homeland security.
 
“I am encouraged by President Obama’s support for a political resolution to Afghanistan’s problems; however I continue to respectfully disagree with his decision to implement a counterproductive escalation of troops in Afghanistan.

“There is no military solution in Afghanistan and our occupation is a prime recruiting tool for the insurgency in Afghanistan and for al Qaeda and other terrorists around the world.

“We need to begin to end America’s longest war.

“That is why I have introduced H.R. 6045, the Responsible End to the War in Afghanistan Act, which would end combat operations in Afghanistan and limit funding for the safe and orderly withdrawal of U.S. troops and military contractors.
 
“The President has rightly started the process of bringing one unnecessary war to a close in Iraq, and I urge him to similarly move away from a policy of open-ended war in Afghanistan.”

 
###