| WASHINGTON - Congressman Vernon J. Ehlers, R-Grand Rapids, issued the following statement in response to President George W. Bush’s address to the nation regarding his Administration’s policy for Iraq:
“I am extremely concerned about the current situation in Iraq. Tonight, we heard from President Bush about his Administration’s plan for moving forward in that war-torn country. I am eager to look at the details of the President’s plan, but based on the lack of success that we have seen so far, we are going to have work very rigorously to ensure that our plan definitely will work. As we do all of this, the basic question that we need to ask is, “What is in our best interests as a nation?”
“As we consider increasing American troop strength in Iraq, I agree that it is just as important to ‘surge’ our diplomatic efforts among the region’s neighboring countries and to get their assistance with our task in Iraq. Only by engaging these governments will we be able to create an environment conducive for a lasting peace in that region of the world.
“I strongly support all the troops who are serving and who have served in Iraq, and deeply appreciate their efforts to carry out their mission. I believe that Congress must give our troops the resources they need to carry out their mission. Every day, I think about and pray for the 3,000-plus American troops who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families, the thousands more who have been injured and the tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens who have been killed or injured as a result of this conflict. We must do all we can to ensure that those casualties were not suffered in vain.” |
