Fortenberry Comments on the War Supplemental

Washington D.C. - Congressman Jeff Fortenberry today released the following statement regarding the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act of 2007.

"This legislation should have been an emergency war supplemental, yet was filled with excessive spending on unrelated legislation," Fortenberry said. "Spending should be targeted to supporting our troops and operations."

"Our work in Iraq continues to be dangerous, risky, and complex. We can all agree the goal is to end the war, but I believe it must be done in a thoughtful and strategic manner. Establishing a fixed arbitrary deadline for withdrawal is not the appropriate course of action. It may undermine the goal of stabilization."

"As we move forward, I submit that our time and energy as leaders of this nation should be focused on military and geo-political strategies. First, Iraqis must fight for their own country now, leading in the battle for Baghdad. Appropriately equipped, our troops should serve in support and training roles to the extent possible. Second, we must engage the responsible members of the international community, particularly the pan-Arab world, to assume a unified and decisive role in neutralizing the forces of chaos and helping to secure stability and peace in the broader Middle East. Third, we must provide thoughtful and vigorous bipartisan Congressional oversight and establish meaningful measures of progress toward the stabilization of Iraq."

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