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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Charles Rangel repeated his call for an end to the war in Iraq, issuing the following statement as the conflict entered its fifth year.
"Today marks a sad anniversary for this country. Four years ago, we attacked a nation that posed no imminent threat to us and set a dangerous new precedent, rationalizing our invasion of Iraq as ‘self-defense’ and classifying human casualties as unavoidable ‘collateral damage.’ Our President told us that our pre-emptive strike would be met with open arms. Yet instead of being showered with hugs and kisses, our soldiers have only met artillery fire and suicide bombers. The Iraqi people have seen their country fall into civil war, with entire regions still struggling for the basic necessities of food, electricity and water. Like so many young people here in this country, many are being pushed to the brink of hopeless toward extremism and violence as the prospects for job and educational opportunities dwindle.
The American people have seen enough. They are tired of seeing the news and seeing how much more the death toll can stretch beyond 3,000. Tired of Republican budgets that shortchange the benefits and healthcare of more than 20,000 veterans who have been injured in this war alone. Tired of knowing that instead of dealing with the rising cost of affordable housing or increasing lack of economic and educational opportunities at home, we have spent more than $400 billion on a war that has only emboldened, not diminished, the power of Al Qaeda and other terrorist networks worldwide.
They are demanding that this Congress end the failed policies of the Bush Administration. This week, the House of Representatives will begin charting that new course. House Democrats will bring forward a plan that will protect our troops, require accountability from the Bush Administration and the Iraqi government and bring our troops home.
It is a plan that will move us closer to a policy that will not only put the future of Iraq in to the hands of its citizens, but also a plan that gives our allies in the region -- the Egyptians, the Saudis, the Jordanians -- a role in bringing an end to civil war and igniting economic prosperity for all.
A policy that recognizes that the seeds of terrorism lie as much in economic despair as they do in far-off training camps or religious sanctuaries. While law enforcement and military forces are legitimate tools for national security, any nation, including our own, is most secure when all of its citizens are well educated, healthy and earn wages that allow them to adequately care for their families. It's when people are mired in poverty and under the belief that there is no ladder to lift them out of their present circumstances that their hearts are tempted by extremism and violence.
The sooner we learn that lesson at home and abroad, the sooner society will be able to leap forward and benefit from each person's full potential. The sooner we learn that lesson, the sooner we may get to the kind of lasting peace that we want not only in Iraq, but all over the world.
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