Preactions and Reactions to President Bush's Jan. 10, 2007 Speech on Iraq

January 10, 2007
Brownback Comments on Troop Surge
Says more troops are not the answer

BAGHDAD – U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today commented on President Bush’s proposal to increase the number of troops deployed to Iraq.

“I do not believe that sending more troops to Iraq is the answer,” said Brownback. “Iraq requires a political rather than a military solution. In the last two days, I have met with Prime Minister Maliki, with two deputy presidents and the president of the Kurdish region. I came away from these meetings convinced that the United States should not increase its involvement until Sunnis and Shi'a are more willing to cooperate with each other instead of shooting at each other.”

During a two day visit to Iraq, Brownback met with several Iraqi and U.S. officials, including U.S. Generals Raymond Odierno and George Casey, Jr., and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad.

Brownback continued, “The Kurdish leadership does not wish to get in the middle of a sectarian fight between the Sunni and Shi’a, and the United States should not either. Instead of surging troops, we must press the Iraqi government to reach a political solution. We cannot achieve a political solution while a military solution is imposed. The best way to reach a democratic Iraq is to empower the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own nation building.”

Brownback now travels to Ethiopia to meet Ethiopian and African Union leadership to discuss Somalia, Darfur, humanitarian needs and the War on Terror.

Brownback is traveling in the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia to ascertain firsthand U.S. efforts in the War on Terror. Brownback is visiting American troops and meeting with high-level leaders and American representatives in Ethiopia, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Senator Brownback is a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Sen. Brownback has written short observations about his trip, which can be viewed at: http://brownback.senate.gov/english/samtravelsto-middleeast-africa-asia.htm
 
 

January 10, 2007
STATEMENT FROM RUDY GIULIANI ON PRESIDENT BUSH’S SPEECH ON IRAQ

“Success or failure in Iraq is not a matter of partisan politics but a matter of national security. All Americans should be hoping, praying and offering constructive advice for the success of our troops in Iraq and for those Iraqis seeking to create a stable and decent government. In that spirit, I support the President’s increase in troops. Even more importantly – I support the change in strategy – the focus on security and the emphasis on a political and economic solution as being even more important than a military solution.

I would add to it a heavy emphasis on measuring results and having the flexibility of adapting our strategy to make certain we restore security as quickly as possible.
We must not wait for a year or more to measure the success of our strategy but must develop a system to do so monthly weekly even daily so we give our troops the necessary support to succeed.”
 
 

January 10, 2007
Hagel Statement on President Bush’s Plan to Increase U.S. Troops in Iraq

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees, released the following statement tonight regarding President Bush’s address to the nation on a new way forward in Iraq:

“I am opposed to the escalation of American involvement in Iraq, including more U.S. troops. This is a dangerously wrong-headed strategy that will drive America deeper into an unwinnable swamp at a great cost. It is wrong to place American troops into the middle of Iraq’s civil war. It is not in America’s national interest to increase our troop presence in Iraq. The President’s strategy will cost more American lives, sink us deeper into the bog of Iraq making it more difficult to get out, cost billions of dollars more, further strain an American military that has already reached its breaking point, further diminish America’s standing in the Middle East, and continue to allow the Iraqis to walk away from their responsibilities. The fate of Iraq will be determined by the Iraqis—not the Americans. We have already given four years, thousands of lives, and hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to Iraq.

“We cannot escape the reality that there will be no military solution in Iraq. The Iraqis are the only ones who can stop the sectarian and inter-sectarian violence that is now consuming their country. Iraqi leaders must understand the stark choice that they face between widening anarchy and violence and a concerted Iraqi effort toward political reconciliation. We cannot want success for Iraq more than they want it for themselves. More American troops, treasure and casualties will not change this reality. It will make it worse. General Abizaid testified to this point in November before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“Instead of increasing our troop presence in Iraq, we should be focused on helping the Iraqis find a political solution and creating a policy that allows us to leave Iraq honorably, has the sustained support of the American people and does not further destabilize the Middle East. This will require redefining our mission and our involvement in Iraq. A new American strategy for Iraq should include:

• moving our troops out of the cities to Iraq’s border areas, allowing us to help secure the territorial integrity of Iraq which will be seriously threatened and is critical for the future of Iraq;

• begin turning over internal security of Iraq to the Iraqis;

• engaging all nations in the Middle East to develop a regional internationally sponsored peace process;

• accelerating training of Iraqi troops.

“We are all trying to find a workable strategy and policy to address the disaster in Iraq. This should not be a partisan political issue. Congress will now begin the serious work of examining the President’s plan through oversight hearings and debate. Ultimately, the Congress will have to make tough decisions about the President’s plan. However, it is the Iraqis who must reach a political accommodation and find a political resolution. It may take years, but it is not the responsibility of the U.S.”
 
 

January 10, 2007
Governor Mitt Romney on Iraq

Boston, MA – Governor Mitt Romney, in direct consideration of the proposed increase in troop deployments in Iraq, issued the following statement today putting an emphasis on the need for clear and measurable strategic objectives.

"I agree with the President: Our strategy in Iraq must change. Our military mission, for the first time, must include securing the civilian population from violence and terror. It is impossible to defeat the insurgency without first providing security for the Iraqi people. Civilian security is the precondition for any political and economic reconstruction.

"In consultation with Generals, military experts and troops who have served on the ground in Iraq, I believe securing Iraqi civilians requires additional troops. I support adding five brigades in Baghdad and two regiments in Al-Anbar province. Success will require rapid deployment.

"This effort should be combined with clear objectives and milestones for U.S. and Iraqi leaders.

"The road ahead will be difficult but success is still possible in Iraq. I believe it is in America's national security interest to achieve it."
 
 

January 11, 2007
United States Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Opening Statement in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Hearings on Iraq: The Administration’s Plan

**Remarks as Prepared for Delivery**

Secretary Rice, welcome.

Nearly four years ago, Congress and the American people gave President Bush the authority to destroy Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and, if necessary, to depose its dictator.

We now know that the weapons of mass destruction were not there and the dictator is no longer there. The Iraqis have held elections.

But the country – and our troops -- are embroiled in a vicious civil war. As of last night, according to the Pentagon, 3009 Americans have lost their lives in Iraq. More than 22,000 have been wounded. We’ve spent hundreds of billions of dollars. And there is no end in sight.

For many months now, the American people have understood that our present policy is a failure – and they want to know where we go from here.

Last night, like millions of Americans, I listened to President Bush.

They hoped and prayed as I did that the President would present us with a plan to make things better in Iraq. Instead, I fear that what he has proposed will make things worse.

They hoped and prayed they would hear a plan that would start to bring our troops home while leaving a stable Iraq behind.

Instead, they heard a plan to escalate the war – not only in Iraq, but possibly into Iran and Syria as well.

The President’s strategy is not a solution – it is a tragic mistake.

In Iraq, the core of the President’s plan is to send another 20,000 Americans to Baghdad, a city of more than 6 million people, where they will go door-to-door in the middle of a civil war.

We have tried this kind of escalation twice before, in Baghdad. It failed. If we try it again, it will fail again.

The result will be the loss of more American lives and our military stretched to the breaking point, with little prospect for success.

This November, the American people voted for a dramatic change in course in Iraq.

The President said that he had heard them. But now it is clear that he did not listen.

And for the life of me, I do not understand how he could reject the overwhelming opposition to his plan from a broad, bi-partisan cross section of this country’s leaders, military and civilian.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff opposed his plan. Our commander in the region, General Abizaid, opposed the plan. Our commanders in Iraq, starting with General Casey, opposed the plan. The Baker-Hamilton Commission opposed the plan. And so did one of our greatest soldier-statesmen, Colin Powell.

The advice they gave the President can be boiled down to two things.

First, our military cannot stop Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds from killing each other. The Iraqis must make a political accommodation. The best way to concentrate the minds of Iraq’s leaders and people on the hard compromises they must make for peace to be possible is to start drawing down our forces, not escalating them.

Second, the way to secure that political solution is to secure the support of Iraq’s neighbors, including Iran and Syria – or, if a settlement fails to take hold, to help us contain the fall out within Iraq. So Secretary Rice, to be very blunt, I cannot in good conscience support the President’s approach.

But because so much is at stake, I am also not prepared to give up on finding a bi-partisan way forward that meets the twin goals most Americans share: to bring home our troops while leaving behind a stable Iraq.

In all my years in the Senate, I don’t think we have faced a more pivotal moment.

Failure in Iraq will not be confined to Iraq – it will do terrible damage to our ability to protect American interests all over the world, and for a long time to come.

That’s why we have to continue to work together to find a solution – a solution that will gain the support of our citizens. For I learned a long time ago that no foreign policy can be sustained without the informed consent of the American people.

I hope it is not too late.
 
 

January 10, 2007
Statement of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on the President’s Speech on Iraq

"Based on the President’s speech tonight, I cannot support his proposed escalation of the war in Iraq.

The President’s Iraq policy has been marred by incompetence and arrogance as his Administration has refused to recognize the military and political reality on the ground. American troops continue to serve and sacrifice in Iraq, performing magnificently and bravely. But as our commanders have said repeatedly, Iraq requires a political solution, not a purely military one, and we did not hear such a proposed solution tonight.

The President simply has not gotten the message sent loudly and clearly by the American people, that we desperately need a new course. The President has not offered a new direction, instead he will continue to take us down the wrong road – only faster. The President’s speech failed to adequately address the political situation in Iraq, rising sectarian violence, mounting strain on our military, growing Iranian influence, and festering divides over how to distribute oil revenues.

As I have said, as the American people have demanded, and as the facts on the ground require, we need a new course and an end to the current failed policy. I continue to urge a strategy that places pressure on the Iraqi government to resolve the political crisis through phased redeployment of U.S. troops, establishes an Iraqi Oil Trust to end the stalemate over oil, and pursues an aggressive diplomatic strategy including an international conference of the regional parties to further the task of Iraq’s stability."
 
 

January 9, 2007
Edwards Statement on President Bush Escalation Plan
Calls on Congress to Block Funds for War Escalation

Senator John Edwards released the following statement today about President Bush's expected announcement tomorrow that he will seek to escalate the number of troops in Iraq.

"George Bush's expected decision to adopt the McCain Doctrine and escalate the war in Iraq is a grave mistake.

"The new Congress must intercede to stop Bush from stubbornly sticking to the same failed course in Iraq and refuse to authorize funding for an escalation of troops. They should make it clear to the President that he will not get any money to put more of our troops in harm's way until he provides a plan to turn responsibility of Iraq over to the Iraqi people and to ultimately leave Iraq. George Bush wants to dig a deeper hole, but we need to climb out.

"The situation in Iraq demands a political solution — the Iraqi people must take responsibility for their country. Escalating the war in Iraq, which our own generals agree won't help, sends the wrong message to the Iraqi people, to the region, and the world. In order to get the Iraqis to take responsibility for their country, we must show them that we are serious about leaving, and the best way to do that is to actually start leaving and immediately withdraw 40–50,000 troops. Once the U.S. starts leaving, the Iraqi people and other regional powers will be forced to step up and engage in the search for a political solution that can bring an end to sectarian violence and allow reconstruction to take hold, creating — as should have been done long ago — Iraqi jobs for Iraqis."
 
 

January 10, 2007
Kerry Responds to Bush Address on Iraq
Bush plan “Is Neither New nor Forward Looking” Says Congress Must Stop Bush Escalation of War

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass) said today that he strongly opposes the Bush administration’s plan for expanding the US troop presence in Iraq and urged the president to redouble his effort to find a political and international solution to the worsening civil war in Iraq. Kerry said there was little support in Congress for expanding the war in Iraq and said the president must ask lawmakers to vote on a new authorization of the war if he wants to expand the mission beyond the current one.

“This plan is neither new nor forward looking. This is more of what’s taken us backwards. There’s no military solution in Iraq. There is only a political solution, and the President has no plan to achieve it. We’re caught in a civil war in Iraq. Escalation is not the answer. The best answer is to set a deadline to bring our heroes home, force Iraqis to stand up for Iraq, and get Iraq’s neighbors to start taking more responsibility for Iraq’s security.”
 

Tomorrow, Senator Kerry will ask Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the war in Iraq to say how this plan differs from a similar plan proposed by President Bush in 2005.
 
 

January 10, 2007
Kucinich: Congress Needs To Oppose Bush’s Call For Troop Surge
Introduces Resolution Urging President Not To Order Troop Escalation

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 10) — Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) called on Congress to oppose the President’s call for up to 20,000 additional troops:

“This Administration is preparing to escalate the conflict. They intend to increase troop levels to unprecedented numbers, without establishing an ending date.

“It is important for Congress to oppose the troop surge. But that is not enough. We must respond powerfully to take steps to end the occupation, close U.S. bases in Iraq and bring our troops home.

“These steps are necessary preconditions to the U.S. extricating itself from Iraq through the establishment of an international security and peacekeeping force.

“That’s what the Kucinich Plan, which I presenting to Congress today is all about.  Congress is a co-equal branch of government. We have an urgent responsibility here.  Congress under Article I, Section 8, has the war-making power. Congress appropriates funds for the war.

“Congress does not dispense with its obligation to the American people simply by opposing a troop surge in Iraq.  It is simply not credible to maintain that one opposes the war, yet continues to fund it. If you oppose the war, then don’t vote to fund it.

Kucinich introduced a Sense of Congress resolution in the House of Representatives today, urging the President not to order an escalation in the total number of troops serving in Iraq.
 
 

January 10, 2007
Obama Statement on President's Call for Troop Escalation in Iraq

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today released the following statement in response to the President's speech about increasing troop levels in Iraq:

"Tonight, against all military advice to the contrary, the President announced his intention to plunge us ever deeper into the quagmire of Iraq. I have no doubt that the President is sincere in believing that his strategy is the right one. But escalation has already been tried and it has already failed, because no amount of American forces can solve the political differences that lie at the heart of somebody else's civil war.

"The President offered no evidence that more troops would force the warring factions toward the necessary political settlement, and attached no consequences should the Iraqis fail to make progress. As his own military commanders have said, escalation only prevents the Iraqis from taking more responsibility for their own future.

"I opposed giving the President the broad, open-ended authority to wage this war in 2002 partly because I feared we would arrive at this point - a point where the ideological pursuit of an ill-defined victory would overwhelm the reality of the facts on the ground.

"Now it is our brave men and women in uniform, along with their families, who will be asked to bear the burden of this mistake - a mistake that I and others will actively oppose in the days to come. We must not risk more American lives in service of a failed policy, but do what's necessary to force a political settlement in Iraq so that we can bring our troops home and redouble our nation's efforts in the wider struggle against terrorism."
 
 

January 10, 2007
VILSACK TO RENEW CALL FOR ANTI-ESCALATION RESOLUTION ON FOX NEWS CHANNEL'S HANNITY & COLMES TONIGHT

DES MOINES, IA - One day after ending his final Condition of the State address by calling on the Iowa General Assembly to oppose Bush's plan to escalate the War in Iraq, Governor Tom Vilsack will appear on Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes tonight at 9:00 pm CST - immediately following the President's address. Vilsack will call on communities across America to pass his "Communities Opposed to Escalating the War" Resolution.
 

"President Bush's decision to escalate the war in Iraq by deploying 20,000 additional troops will make his big Iraq mistake even bigger," said Governor Vilsack. "We have a responsibility as elected officials and patriotic Americans to tell the President and the Congress that escalating the war in Iraq is bad for America."
 

Reacting to the Governor's Condition of the State address, Iowa legislators said there is strong support for the Vilsack Resolution in the state capitol.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal said many of his legislative colleagues were interested in bringing the Vilsack resolution to the Senate floor for debate. Gronstal said, "I think there are a lot of people in the Legislature who would like to have that discussion and that debate." (Des Moines Register, January 10, 2007)

House Majority Leader Patrick Murphy told Radio Iowa there was a "pretty favorable response" to the Vilsack resolution from legislators and other state leaders who had gathered in the Capitol for the speech. (Radio Iowa, January 9, 2007)

“Communities Opposed to Escalating the War” Resolution
WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of American servicemen and women have courageously served our nation in Iraq and earned the steadfast support and loyalty of the American people;

WHEREAS, the Bush administration has dangerously hollowed out our active duty military and depleted the resources of the National Guard, dramatically reducing America's ability to respond to domestic emergencies;

WHEREAS, more than 3,000 American servicemen and women have been killed - and thousands more seriously injured -- in the war in Iraq;

WHEREAS, many key American military commanders, Members of Congress in both parties and millions of patriotic Americans believe that deploying additional American troops will only escalate the war in Iraq and put more Americans in harm's way;

WHEREAS, the Bush administration has already squandered billions of taxpayers dollars in Iraq while significant priorities here at home remain neglected;

WHEREAS, the [government body] has an official responsibility and a patriotic right to speak out on behalf of the people of [local jurisdiction] against policies that will have a significant negative impact on our community;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the [government body] declares its opposition to President Bush's plan to escalate the war by committing thousands more American troops to Iraq.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the [government body] urges the Members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives to declare their opposition to troop escalation in Iraq and work to prevent the escalation of the war.
 
 

January 10, 2007
GOP Presidential candidate John Cox Opposes Bush’s Proposed Troop Surge for Iraq;
"We must give economic hope to the Iraqi people."

John Cox, the first announced Republican presidential candidate, released the following statement this evening:
"Pres. Bush’s plan for a ‘surge’ in troops to Iraq and an additional $1 billion or more in taxpayer handouts is the wrong approach and will not lead to victory.

The people of Iraq live in economic despair every day. They lack hope, and many are turning to terror and violence as a result.

Sending more American soldiers into Fallujah with virtual targets on their backs fails to address the economic realities on the ground.

Simply sending more troops and another billion dollars of taxpayer money to Iraq is foolish and wasteful, and will not solve the economic problems of the Iraqi people.

Lifting people and the economy up out of the chaos they are in must be part of the solution.

I have called on Pres. Bush to implement what I call "Operation Economic Opportunity" to ensure that nation’s oil capacity is brought fully online, so they can sell oil on the open market and build their own schools, roads and military - with their own money.

We must get our troops off the streets and get them guarding the oil pipelines and refineries immediately.

We must reform the government bureaucracy in Iraq that is keeping funds from reaching the rebuilding projects that they so desperately need.

Productive, happy and gainfully employed people do not turn to terrorism.

In a nation of 25 million people, an estimated $75 billion more in annual oil revenue could lift the nation out of poverty, and bring hope and prosperity to a nation sitting on an ocean of oil.

By building up the Iraqi’s economy by returning oil production to full capacity, they can become self-sufficient, and then we can leave, knowing we have ensured a lasting peace.

We must give economic hope to the Iraqi people. America can give them hope for the future through economic opportunity and the personal and financial rewards that brings.

The Iraqi people must feel they have a share in their nation’s prosperity and success. Only then will we be able to leave that nation, knowing we have made it a shining star in the region and an example for others to follow."
 
 
 

January 10, 2007
STATEMENT U.S. SENATOR MIKE GRAVEL (Democrat, Alaska, 1969-1981)
A BLIND PRESIDENT, DEAF DEMOCRATS

President Bush’s call for 20,000 more troops to continue the tragic misadventure in Iraq, reveals a myopia not seen in the White House since President Hoover failed to adequately respond to the Bonus Marchers and the Great Depression.  Despite the overwhelming evidence and testimony that the American military presence/occupation only exacerbates the Bush made crisis in Iraq while threatening the fragile stability in the Middle East where one civil war already rages (Iraq) and two others (in The Palestinian Authority and Afghanistan) threaten to explode, the President is either pursuing an illusory and impossible military victory or buying enough time to push the blame for the Iraqi failure onto the next administration while he contemplates military action against Iran.

And even more disappointing and disheartening is the tepid Democratic response.  Senator Joe Biden, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has suggested that cutting funding for the war was “micromanaging” and “unconstitutional”, while Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid first supported the 20,000 troop surge and then quickly reversed himself and incredibly, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that while she is against the “surge”, she also opposes cutting off funding for the war while favoring an increase in the size of the Army (30,000) and Marines (20,000).  And finally, Senator Kennedy will only offer legislation that requires the President to secure new Congressional authority before being given the funds to send additional troops while remaining silent on withdrawing the 140,000 soldiers currently on the ground.  Hardly a profile in courage! As for the current and prospective democratic presidential candidates, they are all taking cover behind the new Democratic Congress and its leadership.  In other words, the Democrats, despite their posturing, seem to be on the verge of endorsing more of an unwinnable, unending, costly and murderous war before any serious action is taken.

The war was a terrible mistake that can have no positive outcome in the short or long run.  But an immediate and orderly withdrawal of American troops can save the lives of scores of our soldiers and thousands of Iraqi citizens while putting America on the long and winding road to restoring its reputation and influence while protecting its vital interests.
 
 


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