Dear Sen. Rockefeller,
When you voted against the Feingold amendment last week, I was very disappointed. Still, I did not rush to judgement. I trusted you had a good justification.
When you let us know why you voted against the Feingold amendment, I remained disappointed. Still, I did not rush to judgement. I trusted that you and your colleagues in Washington--other honorable, dedicated elected officials including Sen. Webb--had legislative tactics planned to start ending the US occupation of Iraq.
Now that Sen. Reid has announced an agreement with Pres. Bush for another blank check for future war funding, I am severely disappointed. You let us down. The Democratic Party votes against the Feingold amendment directly led to this totally unacceptable funding bill for the continued occupation of Iraq. We are no closer to bringing our soldiers home today than we were a year ago.
You yourself have spoken eloquently about the need futility of military occupation of Iraq.
"It’s a conviction that I have shared that at this point, whether you surge 20,000 or 40,000, it really isn’t going to — it’s going to end up with the same thing. There is no military solution. And the thing that I use is that 60 percent of all shots that are taken to individuals in Iraq, by anybody, are at Americans. So more people there, more people to be shot at." - Sen. Jay Rockefeller [1/4/2007]
"I believe our actions in Iraq have placed our Nation more at risk to terrorist attack than before the invasion. ...
The ongoing war in Iraq has demanded enormous funding and personnel resources which has strained our efforts in the global war on terrorism.
I have seen nothing in my service on the Intelligence Committee, or in any other forum, that suggests sending an additional 21,500 American troops to Iraq will bring about greater security on the ground or lead to a more successful outcome. ... And that’s really the crux of the President’s new strategy -- more troops.
It is an approach that tinkers at the margins of a grave and deteriorating situation. It is not grounded in the realities we face in Iraq and in the region, and it is an unacceptable gamble with additional soldiers’ lives.
The President must understand that even as Congress continues to support and fund the brave work of the servicemen and women who are now serving in Iraq, we will push back on an ill-conceived plan to put more soldiers in harms way." - Sen. Jay Rockefeller [1/11/2007]
"...Congress must be to insist that the President begin to change his failed policy in Iraq by handing the country back to the Iraqis and beginning to bring our troops home." - Sen. Jay Rockefeller [2/17/2007]
"I strongly support ending U.S. military involvement in Iraq’s civil war. ...
Let there be no doubt -- we must bring this misguided war to an end, for the sake of peace and stability in Iraq and the entire region, for the sake of our efforts to fight terrorism worldwide, and for the sake of the future of our Army and Marine Corps and, most importantly, the individual soldiers and Marines who are serving in Iraq right now. We must transition our military mission in Iraq away from large scale policing of Iraq’s civil war and toward targeted counter-terror operations, training the Iraqi Army, and providing security to U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq." - Sen. Jay Rockefeller [5/18/2007]
The time for talk is past. It is time for concrete action. It is time to bring soldiers home, not just talk about bringing them home. It is time to insist on a new Iraq policy, not just talk about insisting on a new policy. It is time to start ending U.S. military involvement in Iraq, not just talk about ending it.
I urge you to join Sen. Feingold, Sen. Byrd and the strong voices against the continued occupation of Iraq. Vote against the conference committee bill. Work to de-authorize the original Iraq War Resolution. Do everything in your power to start bringing our soldiers home.
Why do hundreds more American soldiers and thousands more Iraqis need to die before Congress begins to end the occupation? The American people want the occupation to end. The Iraqis want the occupation to end. Its time for Congress to make it end.
Sincerely,
Clem Guttata
Sen. Rockefeller's office can be contacted at 202-224-6472 or via email.
Cross-posted at West Virginia Blue.