WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 16, 2007 – Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), in a speech to the House of Representatives today, declared he was voting “YES” on the resolution disapproving of President Bush’s latest Iraq troop escalation. He called the vote an important first step toward withdrawing American forces from the midst of that nation’s civil war.

Countering arguments that the House vote would aid enemies of the United States, Fattah said: “Victory for our enemies is made possible by us pursuing a failed policy. We are creating an inevitable situation in which our country continues to lose prestige and support around the world, but much more importantly we’re losing the precious lives of our young people…”

Fattah, who voted against the original resolution authorizing war in 2002, said the Bush Administration has “failed our troops on the ground on so many occasions.” He cited shortages of bullets, long rifles, armored vehicles and body armor, among others.

“The embarrassment of the conduct of this war is only equal to the stupidity that took us to Iraq in the first place,” he said.

American forces, he said, must be redeployed out of Iraq.

“Why would we want to have our young people in a situation where the only time the Sunnis and the Shiites stop killing each other is when they both are willing to turn their weapons against our young people,” Fattah said. “We’re in the middle of a civil war….we are unwelcome visitors.” 

The Congressman reiterated that the key to stabilizing Iraq is to introduce troops from Egypt and other “friendly Arab countries” as part of a multilateral force led by the United Nations. “Since the President said we went there in part to stabilize the region for our friendly Arab neighbors, let them step forward now and secure the region,” he said. 

House Concurrent Resolution 63, which expressed disapproval of Bush’s January decision to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq, was the subject of four days of debate in the House, culminating in a resounding rebuke for the President’s policy in a 246-182 vote Friday afternoon.

Fattah called the Resolution merely a first step. He is an original co-sponsor of “The Bring Our Troops Home and Iraq Sovereignty Act” which would cut funding, bring American troops home and restore real Iraqi sovereignty within six months of enactment.

“Let us rise on this day and speak not just in symbol but in substance on behalf of the fighting men and women of the American military,” Congressman Fattah concluded.