“Since the start of this ill-conceived, poorly-planned, and incompetently-executed Iraq war, I have had three primary concerns:  the safety of our men and women in uniform, the future of Iraq, and the stability of the Middle East region.  The President’s strategy as articulated last night accomplishes none of these goals.

“If I could be convinced that a surge of 20,000 troops would make a positive difference to the situation in Iraq and Middle East, and that it would hasten the safe return of U.S. troops, I would support it.  Nothing I have seen or heard, however, could lead me to this conclusion. 

“General Abizaid has said that ‘more American forces prevent the Iraqis…from taking responsibility for their own future.’  Four previous troop surges between December 2003 and October 2006 haven’t made a dent in the level of violence nor in the number of U.S. casualties.  Our Active Duty, Guard, and Reserve military leadership remain deeply concerned that troops are overdeployed, hastily trained, and underequipped.  As a United States Congresswoman with the responsibility to protect the best interests of my country and my constituents, I cannot support sending more of our men and women in uniform on a wishful-thinking, last-ditch, misguided mission.

“3,008 Americans in uniform have died and 22,834 have been wounded in Iraq since March of 2003.  Sending more Americans to be targets of the Iraqi insurgency will not resolve Iraq’s civil war.  The President must embrace an approach that holds the Iraqi government responsible for the future of Iraq and makes other nations in the Middle East part of a regional solution.  The President must give Prime Minister al-Maliki an ultimatum, tying U.S. diplomatic and technical support to the achievement of internal Iraqi benchmarks and setting forth plans for the redeployment of our troops. 

“The Iraq war has cost far too many lives and too much money.  U.S. taxpayers have spent well over $350 billion – money that could have been directed to achieve other U.S. domestic and foreign policy priorities.  In return, they have gotten a severely strained military and a world that is less safe.  Congress must evaluate requests for further funding with this in mind.

“The President’s strategy proposes additional funds for Iraq reconstruction.  U.S. reconstruction plans thus far have been derailed by the intractable security situation, and U.S. taxpayer money has gone more to ensure the security of contractors than for the benefit of the Iraqi people.  As Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the State Department and Foreign Operations, I will be holding hearings to scrutinize this latest proposal, to assess Iraqi and other donor contributions to the reconstruction effort, and to ensure that taxpayer money is not being squandered.”