Tucson lawmaker supports troops, criticizes surge
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords delivered the following remarks tonight on the floor of the House of Representatives during the first Iraq war debate of the 110th Congress. Giffords spoke in favor of the non-binding resolution.
“As members of the 110th Congress, we are about to cast one of our most important votes yet.
Americans in my district of Southern Arizona, and across the country, want their Representatives to bring closure to the U.S. involvement in Iraq. This vote is the first step toward doing just that.
A few weeks ago, President Bush gave a nationally televised speech to the American people to announce his New Way Forward for Iraq, but it sounded strangely familiar.
The president acknowledged that his policies and plans in Iraq have failed to yield the promised results, and yet his only suggestion was to do more of the same.
During my first few weeks in Congress, serving on the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, I have been listening, learning, and asking tough questions. I have participated in many hours of hearings and briefings with top level administration officials such as:
- Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace
- Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey
- Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, and
- Former congressman Lee Hamilton, co-chairman of the Bipartisan Iraq Study Group commissioned by the president.
Since being sworn in to Congress, I have also been reading dozens of letters from my constituents and flying home to my district almost every weekend to meet with concerned citizens.
Recently I attended a Returning Warrior event in Arizona for reservists coming back from combat. And last week I visited Walter Reed Hospital here in Washington, D.C. to speak with wounded soldiers and their families.
These experiences have made me more confident than ever that the global war on terror and the situation in Iraq are more complicated than President Bush seems to realize. Common sense dictates that in order for any plan to succeed, it must require the Iraqi government to calm the sectarian violence and unify behind a workable political structure.
The president’s plan fails to acknowledge the lack of willingness and capacity by Iraqi political and religious leaders to achieve these necessary goals - sectarian factions are more divided than ever.
Without the serious involvement and motivation of the Iraqi people, the president’s proposal to send more American troops into harm’s way amounts to little more than having 21,000 more soldiers stay the course. This I cannot support.
The president should consider the views of the many active and retired military generals who have advised him to change his strategy in Iraq. Instead of adding more soldiers he should focus on some of the best recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group that he commissioned.
Recommendations include:
- Keeping rapid reaction and special operations forces in Iraq to strike al-Qaida militias
- Setting performance benchmarks for the Iraqi government and holding them accountable
- Providing economic assistance to Iraq that will help create jobs, strengthen infrastructure and improve the Iraqis’ capacity to be independent and stable, and
- Beginning a new dialogue with Iraq's neighbors because they need to part of the solution
The basic message of the Iraq Study Group and other credible experts and strategists is that the situation in Iraq is a political, not just a military, crisis. The President's military escalation plan without a political component is bound to fail.
Along with all other patriotic Americans, I strongly support our men and women in uniform who are risking their lives to protect and defend our nation.
Our armed forces must have the tools, training and support they need to be successful in any mission. I have serious concerns that our Army and Marine Corp, along with Guard and Reserve forces, are being stretched too thin.
Instead of sending 21,000 more young American soldiers to Iraq as part of his same failed strategy, the president should focus on the global war on terrorism.
Failure is not an option. America must prevail against many serious terrorist threats around the world, whether in the Middle East or elsewhere.
I will vote to support the resolution before this body because our brave men and women in uniform deserve a strategy that honors their sacrifices - the president's plan does not do that.”