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News from
Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
For Immediate Release
Contact: Russ Levsen, 202-226-4449 or Chip Weiskotten, 202-226-8553
HERSETH
SANDLIN STATEMENT ON IRAQ RESPONSIBLE REDEPLOYMENT ACT
July 12,
2007, Washington, D.C. -
Late this afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2956,
the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act. Congresswoman Stephanie
Herseth Sandlin voted in favor of the bill and released the following
statement:
“This bill calls
for a responsible redeployment of U.S. troops beginning within 120 days
of enactment and ending by April 1, 2008. It does not require an immediate
withdrawal, and does not affect funding for our troops. The bill will
not remove all of our troops from theater, but correctly shift their
role to counter-terrorist operations, the protection of U.S. military
and civilians, and the continued training and equipping of Iraqi security
forces.
“I support this
bill, as I have supported similar bills in recent months, because we
need a change of course in Iraq. We need to act decisively and responsibly
as we confront the challenges we face in Iraq and continue to create
conditions for accountability going forward.
“Our soldiers are
performing superbly and doing absolutely everything we have asked of
them. In 2002, Congress authorized the President to use military force
to remove the government of Iraq from power. That goal was accomplished
within weeks, and Saddam Hussein and other leaders have since been indicted,
tried, convicted and executed by the new democratic Government of Iraq.
“Let there be no
mistake: our military won the war it was asked to wage. They won it
swiftly and decisively. Since that victory, like all Americans, I have
been hopeful that the Iraqi government would make the tough choices
necessary to create a unified, stable government and to take responsibility
for their own security.
“That has not happened,
and we have paid a terrible price. More than 3,600 American heroes have
given the ultimate sacrifice. More than 26,000 have been wounded. We
have spent $450 billion in taxpayer dollars, at a current rate of $10
billion per month. And our military readiness has become a serious national
security risk. In March, retired Army General Barry McCaffrey concluded
that U.S. forces are in ‘strategic peril.’ That was four months ago.
“This morning, the
President outlined his administration’s assessments of progress in Iraq,
the first of two reports required by Congress. He reported unsatisfactory
progress on all of the political reconciliation benchmarks announced
in January of this year, including a failure to amend the Iraqi Constitution,
to hold provincial elections, to pass an equitable oil sharing law,
or to allow former Baath Party members access to government jobs.
“Because the Iraqi
government remains embroiled in internal political disputes, our troops
are still in the precarious position of refereeing a civil war. The
time has come to prepare to responsibly transition our troops away from
a direct combat role amidst deepening sectarian violence. While American
forces have effectively undertaken and completed mission after mission
to improve the security situation in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq,
they continue to lack consistently reliable partners within the Iraqi
Security forces and the Iraqi government for stability to take hold.
Strong medicine is necessary for accountability and for Iraq to fully
understand that our commitment is not indefinite.
“Moreover, we need
to empower our military to refocus their efforts on destroying al Qaeda,
especially in light of the most recent National Intelligence Estimate
that the al Qaeda network has grown across the globe and increased in
strength.
“Outside experts
agree the situation in Iraq is getting worse. Thomas Fingar, the deputy
director for analysis at the National Intelligence Council, said there
have been ‘few appreciable gains.’ And this week, former Congressman
Lee Hamilton, who led the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, reaffirmed that
the situation in Iraq remains ‘grave and deteriorating.’
“Now more than ever,
this issue demands more than overused and hollow partisan rhetoric;
it requires a thoughtful debate followed by action. The calls by those
on the far left for an immediate withdrawal and those on the far right
to stay the course indefinitely are equally irresponsible and impractical.
We need a common ground, centrist approach. This bill represents a responsible
way forward that realistically recognizes the challenges we face.”
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