(Washington, DC) Congresswoman Corrine Brown made the following statement:

“I have been an ardent opponent of the Iraq war from the outset. When the War Resolution came up before the House of Representatives, I voted against it then, knowing full well at the time that this war was, and is, a sham. I never believed for a minute that there was a connection between Iraq, Saddam Hussein’s regime, and Al Queda. That is not to say that I do not support our brave troops over there, but it certainly does imply that I oppose the leaders who sent them overseas, without a clear mission, and without an exit plan.

As has been clearly delineated here in the speech given by the Democratic Party’s military specialist, Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania, following the parliamentary elections in Iraq would be a perfect time for our troops to redeploy. As Rep. Murtha argues, “the United States and coalition troops have done all they can in Iraq…(yet) it is evident that continued military action in Iraq is not in the best interest of the United States of America, the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf region.”

Moreover, as laid out in the arguments by Rep. Murtha, it seems to me that indeed, the United States military has in fact already successfully completed the mission of not only capturing Saddam Hussein but of removing him from power and setting up a provisional government with representative democracy, albeit incipient. In short, our troops have done their duty, and bravely served their nation. It is now time to bring them home: they do not need to continue to sit out in Iraq to serve as target practice for renegade political groups!”

To read the full statement given by Congressman John Murtha, please go to:
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa12_murtha/pr051117iraq.html.

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