Washington D.C.--- Mr.Speaker:  I rise today to voice my support for H.Con.Res. 63.

        Mr. Speaker, for far too long now, under a Republican-controlled Congress, and a Republican-controlled Senate, the President has been given a free hand and a blank check to conduct this war in Iraq without any oversight or accountability from this equal branch of government.

        Moreover, because of the Republicans unwillness, and the Democrats inability to question the President or his Administration about the why and how this war has been conducted, We now find ourselves embroiled in a civil war on foreign soil, where we are not seen as liberators, as this Administration once promised the American people.

        But instead in a deadly situation where American soldiers and Iraqi citizens are being targeted and killed on a daily basis with no end in sight.

        Mr. Speaker, many top generals and experts in this field have testified that American troop presence is acting as a catalyst to the violence there.

        The Iraqi people are very suspicious of this Administration and the motives of this President, and they do not view foreign soldiers in their cities and homes as something they desire.

        So if the Iraqis no longer want us in their country, and if the military objective, which was supposed to be to topple Saddam Hussein, has been achieved, then why do we still have hundreds of thousands of our troops there?

        And why on earth are we sending more troops to this unstable and volatile area, when it is obvious that the solution to this problem is a political one, not a military one.

        Mr. Speaker, it is high past time for the President to finally understand that he cannot solve all of the world’s problem with brute force and the American military.

        We must begin a serious political and diplomatic effort in the region, to hold the Iraqi government responsible for protecting its people,  and to solicit commitments from Iraq’s neighbours, as well as our friends and allies around the world, to help stabilize the Iraq and to rebuild that war-torn country.

        The Iraqi people do not want to see more American troops coming into their cities.      They want their chosen leaders to step up to the plate and to protect them, and they want the “foreign occupiers” to leave their homeland.

This is not hard to comprehend. Wouldn’t we want the same thing if a foreign military came and occupied America?

        Mr. Speaker, this war is draining American resources and stretching our military to the point where we will not be able to protect ourselves against the real threats to our national security.

        To date, over 3,000 American soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq, and more than $500 billion has been appropriated for this unscrupulous war.

        Yet, despite these costs, neither the American people nor the Congress has been given an explanation or grounds for keeping American troops in Iraq to do the job that Iraqi soldiers should be doing for themselves.

        Because of grave missteps and miscalculations from the initial phases, as well as throughout the conduct of this war on behalf of the Bush Administration, the situation in Iraq has steadily declined.

        There is no evidence to suggest that increasing the number of American soldiers at this point will do anything other than provide more targets to the Iraqi insurgents, and make the situation in Iraq even more volatile.

        Even as the generals on the ground have come out against the President’s proposal to add more troops, the Administration has once again decided to ignore the recommendations of those who know best, and go their own way in deciding strategy for this war.

        After being wrong on so many counts time and time again, I believe the stakes in this war are too high for us to continue to put blind trust in this Administration.

        The brave members of armed services who have served us so admirably deserve better.   The American people, who voted for change in the November elections, deserve better.

        Mr. Speaker, I am against this troop surge because the American people and the Iraqi people want real change in strategy from this Administration, not more of the same.

        It is the job and the responsibility of this Congress to reflect the will of the people who have put us here, and demand that the Administration bring an end to this ill-fated war, not escalate it.

        Believe me, Mr. Speaker, it brings me no pleasure to have this debate and publicly disagree with the President, but my solemn oath to my constituents, as well as my conscience and integrity prevent me from doing anything less.

It is time for us to end our occupation in Iraq.

I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting H.Con. Res 63, and with that I yield my time.