“Tonight I had hoped to hear the President level with the American people and articulate a clear message about our commitment in Iraq. I had hoped to hear real specifics tonight from the President about his plan for securing the peace, improving the training of the Iraqi security forces, and bringing our brave young men and women home. I thought that I would be tuning in for new ideas, but all I saw tonight from our President was another summer rerun.
“The Administration seems to be confused about the insurgency in Iraq. First the President stood before a banner that said ‘Mission Accomplished’ and more recently Vice President Cheney tells us the insurgency is in its ‘last throes.’ Then the Vice President backed away from that statement after top military brass said that the insurgency is as strong now as it was six months ago. Then Defense Secretary Rumsfeld tells us that the insurgency could last for as long as 12 years, whereas he previously told us that he thought that it might only last ‘six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.’
“I am reminded of a statement to the American people by one of my heroes, Franklin Roosevelt, a President that this Administration could learn some lessons from: ‘Your government has unmistakable confidence in your ability to hear the worst, without flinching or losing heart. You must, in turn, have complete confidence that your government is keeping nothing from you except information that will help the enemy in his attempt to destroy us.’
“This Administration is long overdue in giving the troops and the American people a clear picture of the situation in Iraq and what the American ‘strategy for success’ is. We will defeat the insurgency and to do that we cannot set a specific timetable for withdrawal, however, the President must assure us that the Administration is doing everything possible to complete the mission as quickly and safely as possible. And when our troops come home, we can’t rely on appeals to American patriotism on the 4th of July to make up for a $1.0 billion shortfall in veterans’ healthcare or other services. So the President must ensure that we will honor all our commitments to the veterans of our armed forces who put themselves in harm’s way. Anything less is an injustice to the troops, their families, and the American people.”
