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New York- Congressman Charles B. Rangel released the following statment in reaction to President George W. Bush's televised national speech on the war in Iraq:
The President isn't fooling anyone with his announced plan to start a pullout of troops from Iraq. Even if he holds to his word, 130,000 American troops will be bogged down in the desert nine months from now--the same as before the surge. Soldiers keep on dying and more families are grief-stricken so the President can get his way.
How in God's name can the President leave our brave young men and women in harm's way for a losing cause? Just last month I was at the funeral in Washington Heights for Army Cpl. Juan Alcantara. He was 22 years old and he was killed in Iraq before ever seeing his one month old daughter. He should have been sent home in June but his tour was extended. He was just one more boot on the ground for the surge. How many more kids are going to die so the President can "stay the course?"
Americans' patience has run out, and the Army is broken. Even General Petraeus says he's worried that the youngest soldiers can't take the pressure. Recruiters are offering poor kids a new $20,000 bonus to report to basic training and ship out immediately to Iraq. The so-called volunteer Army is surviving on an economic draft.
The President says the surge is working. Four more Marines were killed on the day General Petraeus testified before Congress about our success in the war. Today there's a state of emergency in Anbar Province, where the General said we're winning over the terrorists. There's no oil law, no political reconciliation. The Parliament doesn't function. There are millions of refugees. The rivers are swollen with dead Iraqis. There are no lights, no clean water. Nearly 200,000 weapons and billions of dollars are unaccounted for. More than 3,700 American soldiers and Marines are in their graves. More than 37,000 have been wounded and maimed. Where's the success?
The President throws away lives in Iraq as he runs out the clock on his presidency. When he's back home in Crawford, our soldiers will be stuck in Baghdad. They have already done their best, and they've done enough. Mr. President, bring our heroes home.
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