Conyers: Redeploy our Troops from Iraq

Washington, DC - Today, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. voted against H. Res. 861, the Republican-crafted Iraq resolution. Last night, Mr. Conyers also articulated his views on the occupation of Iraq during the ten hour debate on the floor of the House of Representatives.

In explaining his opposition to the Iraq resolution, Conyers stated, "This legislation unjustifiably links Iraq and the war on terror and rubberstamps the Administration's failed policy of 'stay the course.' It is a shame the Republicans are playing political games when 2,500 American soldiers have died and more soldiers will die if we continue this open-ended occupation. Rather than proposing substantive ideas for achieving peace, Republicans prefer to peddle empty slogans and to divert our attention away from our real objective in the war on terror - to find Osama bin Laden and defeat al Qaeda."

The text of Congressman Conyers' statement on the House floor follows:

"General Anthony Zinni and other retired generals have been outspoken in their opposition to the planning and execution of our occupation of Iraq. The administration rejected their sound recommendations, which predicted exactly what would happen if we didn't plan for the occupation.

These generals explain that our forces were not provided enough resources to do the job, that we alienated allies that could have helped in rebuilding Iraq, and that the Defense Department ignored planning for the post-war occupation, unaware of the growing insurgency.

I have heard from too many military families whose children have been wounded or killed in duty. Their grief is so much harder to bear knowing that we did not adequately equip their sons and daughters in battle.

I have met many times with Lila Lipscomb, a proud mother from Flint, Michigan, who lost her son Michael in Iraq. Initially, Lila supported the war on the assumption that the government knew best. A week after finding out her son had died, Lila received a letter from her son in which he forcefully argued that we should not be in Iraq because there was no connection between Iraq and Osama bin Laden.

Cindy Sheehan lost her son Casey in Iraq and became a voice for mothers of soldiers who oppose the war. Cindy's loss motivated her to unite with other grieving mothers in opposition to the war. Her willingness to speak truth to power has drawn attention to the misconduct of the war and the terrible price that servicemen and women and their families have paid.

We have endured strategic missteps and now find ourselves with insufficient troop levels to provide adequate safety in Iraq. Insurgent bombings, ethnic battles, and mass abductions by rival Sunni and Shiite militias are clear indications that our occupation has not provided for the conditions that Iraqis need to form an effectively functioning government.

U.S. reconstruction and infrastructure investment has had little impact in three years. Despite the billions of non-competitive, cost-plus contracts given to businesses friendly to this administration, 54% of Iraqi households still lack access to clean water and 85% lack reliable electricity.

The administration's emphasis on unilateral action in this conflict has left America bearing too much of a military and financial burden. If Iraq is going to be stabilized and move toward a democracy, it will need a commitment and a will far greater than what America itself can provide on its own.

Why haven't we learned from the first Gulf War? In the 1991 Gulf War, our coalition partners shouldered over 75% of the cost of the war. We had over 100,000 Muslim troops fighting alongside a broad coalition of forces.

We need to encourage our friends and allies around the globe to help with Iraqi reconstruction and peacekeeping. We just don't have sufficient resources to manage this work on our own.

If we can bring the international community into Iraq to help establish a democracy, protect its citizens, and rebuild its infrastructure, it will free American forces and resources to address the real problem we face: terrorism.

Let's heed the advice of our colleague John Murtha and redeploy our troops to find Osama bin Laden and fight terrorists. If we can shatter the myth that occupying Iraq is the same thing as fighting terrorism, then these ten hours of debate will have been worth something after all."

###6-16-2006###