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News from Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
For Immediate Release
Contact: Russ Levsen, 202-226-4449 or Chip Weiskotten, 202-226-8553

HERSETH SANDLIN STATEMENT ON IRAQ RESPONSIBLE REDEPLOYMENT ACT

July 12, 2007, Washington, D.C. - Late this afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2956, the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act. Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin voted in favor of the bill and released the following statement:

“This bill calls for a responsible redeployment of U.S. troops beginning within 120 days of enactment and ending by April 1, 2008. It does not require an immediate withdrawal, and does not affect funding for our troops. The bill will not remove all of our troops from theater, but correctly shift their role to counter-terrorist operations, the protection of U.S. military and civilians, and the continued training and equipping of Iraqi security forces.

“I support this bill, as I have supported similar bills in recent months, because we need a change of course in Iraq. We need to act decisively and responsibly as we confront the challenges we face in Iraq and continue to create conditions for accountability going forward.

“Our soldiers are performing superbly and doing absolutely everything we have asked of them. In 2002, Congress authorized the President to use military force to remove the government of Iraq from power. That goal was accomplished within weeks, and Saddam Hussein and other leaders have since been indicted, tried, convicted and executed by the new democratic Government of Iraq.

“Let there be no mistake: our military won the war it was asked to wage. They won it swiftly and decisively. Since that victory, like all Americans, I have been hopeful that the Iraqi government would make the tough choices necessary to create a unified, stable government and to take responsibility for their own security.

“That has not happened, and we have paid a terrible price. More than 3,600 American heroes have given the ultimate sacrifice. More than 26,000 have been wounded. We have spent $450 billion in taxpayer dollars, at a current rate of $10 billion per month. And our military readiness has become a serious national security risk. In March, retired Army General Barry McCaffrey concluded that U.S. forces are in ‘strategic peril.’ That was four months ago.

“This morning, the President outlined his administration’s assessments of progress in Iraq, the first of two reports required by Congress. He reported unsatisfactory progress on all of the political reconciliation benchmarks announced in January of this year, including a failure to amend the Iraqi Constitution, to hold provincial elections, to pass an equitable oil sharing law, or to allow former Baath Party members access to government jobs.

“Because the Iraqi government remains embroiled in internal political disputes, our troops are still in the precarious position of refereeing a civil war. The time has come to prepare to responsibly transition our troops away from a direct combat role amidst deepening sectarian violence. While American forces have effectively undertaken and completed mission after mission to improve the security situation in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq, they continue to lack consistently reliable partners within the Iraqi Security forces and the Iraqi government for stability to take hold. Strong medicine is necessary for accountability and for Iraq to fully understand that our commitment is not indefinite.

“Moreover, we need to empower our military to refocus their efforts on destroying al Qaeda, especially in light of the most recent National Intelligence Estimate that the al Qaeda network has grown across the globe and increased in strength.

“Outside experts agree the situation in Iraq is getting worse. Thomas Fingar, the deputy director for analysis at the National Intelligence Council, said there have been ‘few appreciable gains.’ And this week, former Congressman Lee Hamilton, who led the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, reaffirmed that the situation in Iraq remains ‘grave and deteriorating.’

“Now more than ever, this issue demands more than overused and hollow partisan rhetoric; it requires a thoughtful debate followed by action. The calls by those on the far left for an immediate withdrawal and those on the far right to stay the course indefinitely are equally irresponsible and impractical. We need a common ground, centrist approach. This bill represents a responsible way forward that realistically recognizes the challenges we face.”

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