| Representatives John Hall (NY-19) and Maurice Hinchey (NY-22) have released statements about the testimony of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker before a joint House Committee today. They are both fairly strong though I wish Hall's was as strong as Hinchey's.
Here's some highlights of John Hall's statement:
The hearing provided little in the way of new evidence and I believe we still need a firm timetable to wind down our involvement in Iraq.
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However, General Petraeus gave no new evidence that Iraqi forces are prepared to hold the gains American troops have made. And Ambassador Crocker seemed pessimistic that Iraqi politicians could take advantage of whatever small improvements have occurred.
When announcing his escalation, President Bush said we would see results in 6 months. Now, at the 6 month point, his two top officials in Iraq are unable to show any tangible signs of improvement and have asked for 6 more months. The American people don't want 6 more months of the same quagmire and I don't believe Congress should provide it.
And Hinchey shows the freshman how it's done:
"Well it took President Bush awhile, but he finally found a military leader who would go along with his misguided plan for Iraq and try to sell it to Congress and the American people. The call from General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker for Congress to give more time for the so-called surge to work is a recipe for disaster and completely unacceptable.
"Time and time again, President Bush has appealed to Congress and the American people to remain patient and wait for him to come through with a successful plan for Iraq. Time is up. As of today, 3,759 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq and more than 27,770 have been wounded. The violence is getting worse with 56 percent more U.S. casualties in Iraq this year than at this time in 2006. Not one more American should have to die in Iraq or lose a limb as President Bush looks for more excuses to stay in Iraq.
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"The so-called surge was designed to give the Iraqi government more time to solidify itself and strengthen security throughout the country. The surge has failed. The sad truth is that Iraq is a very volatile country; there are tragic levels of violence now and there will be tragic levels of violence whenever the United States leaves. However, the United States' presence in Iraq is not doing anything to quell the violence that already exists. For that reason, it's time to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
"President Bush misled this country into invading Iraq and he has proven to be extraordinarily incompetent at managing the subsequent occupation. When President Bush said Iraq was connected to al Qaeda and the September 11 attacks he was deliberately wrong. When President Bush declared "mission accomplished" just six weeks after the invasion of Iraq he was foolishly wrong. When President Bush asked for time to let his so-called surge work he was wrong. Now that he is asking for more time to let his so-called surge work we are wise enough to know that he will be wrong again so we must step in and end the U.S. occupation of Iraq now. It is time for our troops to come home and to be redeployed to Afghanistan and other parts of the world where al Qaeda continues to lurk as a major threat to our national security. Not another American should die in Iraq."
I'm still looking for other statements from the NY delegation. If you find anything, feel free to pass it on or post them yourself. |
