BAUCUS CANCELS IRAQ TRIP TO STAY AND DEBATE

Senator Was Slated To Visit Baghdad, Israel, Jordan

February 16, 2007

(Washington, D.C.) - Montana Senator Max Baucus has cancelled a trip to Iraq to instead stay in Washington and debate the war in the U.S. Senate this weekend.

Baucus was slated to be the senior member of a delegation visiting Iraq, Israel and Jordan. But he decided to scrap the trip after a vote on whether or not to debate the war was scheduled in the Senate on Saturday.

"It's clear the American people want a debate on this issue," Baucus said on the Senate floor Friday. "There's no doubt about that. For the U.S. Senate to not vote would be irresponsible. This is the most fundamental issue on Americans' minds."

Baucus called the situation in Iraq "a mess" and said that it's time for the Iraqi government to stand on its own.

He's not going on the trip because he wants "to be here to cast my vote and start debating," Baucus said. "That's the right thing to do."

"I was going to go to Iraq tonight because I wanted to see firsthand what's going on," he said. "I want to talk to troops. I want to talk to the commanders. I want to talk to not only American personnel but also Iraqis. I wanted to determine. . . if the Iraqis are able to stand on their own two feet and do what they're supposed to do - that is govern and run their own country."

In his speech on the Senate floor, Baucus said "it doesn't make much sense to throw more troops at the problem" and that it's time the Iraqi government "sober up and start getting their act together."

"We did a good thing by toppling Saddam Hussein," he said. "But we did not have an exit strategy. We should not continue a failed policy. I don't think anyone has the silver bullet. But we need to give the Iraqis a set date. If we don't, they think we'll just continue to take care of them."

Baucus stressed the need to engage other countries in the region.

"If you want a solution you have to talk to people," Baucus said. "In life, you talk to your friends but you also talk to your enemies. The stakes are so high, the consequences so great. I strongly urge the administration to engage and start talking. It's not going to be easy. But I don't know of an alternative."

Baucus, first elected in 1978, said the war in Iraq is one of the most serious issues he's ever confronted in the Senate.

"If the Iraqis aren't taking care of themselves, why should we take care of them," Baucus asked. "We've lost so many American lives, so many Montanans. And it makes no sense, in my judgment, to keep doing this."

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