Sen. Clinton on Iraq
The following excerpts are from an e-mail, I received from Senator Clinton: “I believe that the President should abandon his escalation of the war and begin a phased redeployment of our troops out of Iraq. In late May, I voted against a second version of the supplemental appropriations bill because it failed to compel the President to give our troops a new strategy in Iraq. I fully support our troops, and wish that the President had followed the will of the American people and signed the original bill Congress sent to the White House in April, which would have both funded the troops and set us on a new course of phased redeployment.
“In the Senate, I will continue to seek responsible ways to force the President to change course and begin to bring our troops home. In May, I announced that I would co-sponsor legislation to set an expiration date of October 11, 2007 for the authorization for the use of force in Iraq. I believe that a full reconsideration of the terms and conditions of that authorization is overdue. This bill would do just that by requiring the President to ask Congress for a new authorization if the Administration seeks to continue the war.
“I have also called on both Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace to brief Congress on any existing contingency plans for the withdrawal of United States forces from Iraq, or to provide an explanation as to why such plans have not been properly created. I did so because Congress must be sure that we are fully prepared to withdraw our forces without any unnecessary danger. We cannot afford to repeat past failures, such as not planning adequately for the conflict and failing to properly equip our men and women in uniform.
“I introduced the Iraq Troop Protection and Reduction Act to halt the President's escalation policy and to provide an alternative strategy to stabilize the country a strategy that would enable the President to end the war before he leaves office.
“Specifically, my bill would cap the number of troops in Iraq at the level before the President's escalation. It would be against the law to send more. The legislation also sets out to protect our troops , who are performing heroically by prohibiting the use of funds to send them to Iraq unless they have the proper equipment and training. This is critical in light of February's Department of Defense Inspector General report, which concluded that the U.S. military is still failing to adequately equip our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“My bill also aims at putting real pressure on the Iraqi government, requiring them to make political progress on key issues such as ensuring that the Iraqi security forces are free of militia or sectarian influence or lose funding for their military and reconstruction. Such provisions would increase our leverage with the Iraqi government and send the message that there are consequences for continued inaction.”
“In the Senate, I will continue to seek responsible ways to force the President to change course and begin to bring our troops home. In May, I announced that I would co-sponsor legislation to set an expiration date of October 11, 2007 for the authorization for the use of force in Iraq. I believe that a full reconsideration of the terms and conditions of that authorization is overdue. This bill would do just that by requiring the President to ask Congress for a new authorization if the Administration seeks to continue the war.
“I have also called on both Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace to brief Congress on any existing contingency plans for the withdrawal of United States forces from Iraq, or to provide an explanation as to why such plans have not been properly created. I did so because Congress must be sure that we are fully prepared to withdraw our forces without any unnecessary danger. We cannot afford to repeat past failures, such as not planning adequately for the conflict and failing to properly equip our men and women in uniform.
“I introduced the Iraq Troop Protection and Reduction Act to halt the President's escalation policy and to provide an alternative strategy to stabilize the country a strategy that would enable the President to end the war before he leaves office.
“Specifically, my bill would cap the number of troops in Iraq at the level before the President's escalation. It would be against the law to send more. The legislation also sets out to protect our troops , who are performing heroically by prohibiting the use of funds to send them to Iraq unless they have the proper equipment and training. This is critical in light of February's Department of Defense Inspector General report, which concluded that the U.S. military is still failing to adequately equip our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“My bill also aims at putting real pressure on the Iraqi government, requiring them to make political progress on key issues such as ensuring that the Iraqi security forces are free of militia or sectarian influence or lose funding for their military and reconstruction. Such provisions would increase our leverage with the Iraqi government and send the message that there are consequences for continued inaction.”
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