Madam Speaker:  I rise today to support this resolution and express my profound disapproval of President Bush’s decision to increase our troop levels in Iraq.  Late last year, the President had an opportunity to create a new strategy.  The voice of the American people was heard this past election.  The voice of the Iraq Study Group gave the President a bi-partisan plan to draw down our troops.  New leadership at the Pentagon also could have been a voice to change strategy.  But President Bush did not listen to any of these voices.  He decided to escalate our troop levels in Iraq. 

No time frame.  No measurable benchmarks.  No end.

Madam Speaker if President Bush chooses an erroneous path, then it is our constitutional responsibility to show the way. 

I have the deepest respect and gratitude for our men and women in uniform.  I honor their commitment, their courage, and their sacrifice.  Our troops have done everything that has been asked of them.  They overwhelmed the old Iraqi government and captured Saddam Hussein.  They provided security while Iraq formed its provisional government, approved a constitution, and elected a permanent government.

Nine individuals from the First Congressional District of Indiana have already given their life and made the supreme sacrifice for our nation.  These brave men and women will always be remembered:  Sergeant Jeannette Winters, Specialist Gregory Sanders, Sergeant Duane Rios, Specialist Roy Buckley, Private First Class John Amos II, Private Luis Perez, Private First Class Nathan Stahl, Corporal Bryan Wilson, Private First Class Steven Sirko, Specialist Nicholas Idalski, Specialist Adam Harting, and Staff Sergeant Jonathan Rojas.

Additionally, hundreds of Hoosiers have been wounded in the war in Iraq.  And thousands more have bravely served in Iraq.

I am very proud of the dedication and service of the people of my state.  We owe them an equal commitment.  Not just a commitment to the training and resources necessary to ensure that they can fight effectively, and protect themselves to every extent possible.  Not just a commitment to the benefits to ensure that, when they come home, they have the means to make a successful transition in their lives.  We owe them the courage to act on our convictions.

Our troops are stretched to the breaking point.  They are ensnared in the crossfire of a civil war.  And the overwhelming majority of Iraqis do not want them there.  There is a reality on the ground in Baghdad.  Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently stated there are four wars going on in Iraq.  He stated the four wars are and I quote:  “Shia on Shia, principally in the south; the second is sectarian conflict, principally in Baghdad, but not solely; third is the insurgency; and fourth is al-Qaeda, and al-Qaeda is attacking, at times, all of those targets.”  Madam Speaker, there is a limit to what we can accomplish there, and we need to take that into consideration.

With the passage of four years and the loss of over 3,000 brave Americans and countless others who have been permanently injured, I regret to recall that we were told we needed to invade Iraq because Saddam Hussein possessed materials for weapons of mass destruction.  None could be found.  I regret that the President felt compelled to justify the invasion by claiming a connection between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein when the 9/11 Commission found this not to be true. 

Our situation in Iraq has redirected our nation from its true mission.  The war in Iraq has diverted our attention from the global war on terror.  We have taken our eye off the ball when it comes to national security and keeping America safe.  We need to reconstitute our armed forces.  We also need a strategic redeployment of our forces that will give us the ability to focus our efforts directly on the global terror networks that target innocent people around the world.

I voted against the authorization of the Iraq invasion in 2003.  There was no plan or exit strategy then, and there are clearly no good options now.  Yet the Iraq Study Group provided a bi-partisan perspective on some changes in strategy.  They called for a drawdown of troops and for more intensive diplomatic efforts to resolve the sectarian violence there.  We need to listen to their recommendations.

From all of this, I see great merit in the perspective that Chairman Jack Murtha has brought to the debate and has been advocating for more than a year.  Our presence in Iraq is fueling the conflict. The Iraqis are not going to settle their differences until it becomes clear to them that we are leaving.  I share Chairman Murtha’s point of view.

Madam Speaker, it is not too late to change our strategy, and the first step along the new way is to prevent the President’s escalation of this war.  It is time to oblige the Iraqi government to assume the full burden and consequences of governing their country.  We need to listen to the majority of the American people.  We need to listen to the reasoned voices such as the Iraq Study Group and Congressman Murtha.  The time to pursue a new course is now.  I support our troops, and that is why I support this resolution.