The momentum is such that right wing attack groups such as "Freedom's Watch" are starting to directly attack the Responsible Plan and the Democrat's supporting it. Republican Oregon Senator Gordon Smith is so boxed in by his opponents support for the plan that he is both trying to claim credit for the plan and not endorse it all at the same time.
Today's Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker appeared before Congress as representatives of the Bush administration to report on progress in Iraq.
Hello, I’m Darius Shahinfar and I am a candidate in upstate New York ’s 21st Congressional District. I am running for Congress to Renew America ’s Promise... both at home and abroad.
Recently I joined with over 40 other Democrats in endorsing the "Responsible Plan for Ending the War in Iraq." I would like to tell you a little bit of why I support this plan.
I believe that the Bush administrations foreign policy in Iraq has greatly weakened America and diminished our standing in the world.
I support the "Responsible Plan" to bring our troops home from a war that is costing us precious lives and sapping our economy.
Let's look at the facts... Since the Iraq War began over five years ago:
4,000 U.S. soldiers have been killed and nearly 30,000 have been wounded.
There have been over 85,000 documented Iraqi civilian deaths.
And we have borrowed over $500 billion dollars from nations like China and Saudi Arabia for military operations.
Specifically, the "Responsible Plan's" core objectives are to:
- End U.S. military action in Iraq
- Repair the diplomatic and humanitarian damage created by this war
- Prevent a repeat of future foreign policy blunders
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker will testify before the House and Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees to report on the status of affairs in Iraq.
Congress owes it to the American people and, to our men and women in uniform, to ask Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker some very tough and pointed questions.
For several months, the Administration has claimed that "the surge worked" and that everything is moving along nicely in Iraq. Recent events however, make that story line highly questionable.
In that light, here are a few questions I would ask Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker:
We were told that the purpose of the surge was to create an improved security situation that would enable Iraq’s political leaders to reconcile. But General Petraeus recently stated that "No one... feels that there has been sufficient progress by any means in the area of national reconciliation."
My question therefore is:
"Has the surge provided the breathing room necessary for political reconciliation to take place? Has there been an agreement on power sharing? Oil revenue sharing? And disarmament of militias?"
CIA Director, General Michael Hayden has been quoted as saying that we did not know about the recent Basra Iraqi military operation before it began.
The question is: "Why did our military NOT know? Why didn’t the Iraqi government tell our commanders in Iraq?"
It appears that the influence of the Ahmadinejad regime in Iran and across the region has been dramatically increased by the Iraq war. In fact, it was Iran, not the United States, that played a central role in mediating a truce between the Iraqi government and al-Sadr.
The question is: "Do you agree that since the invasion of Iraq, the Ahmadinejad regime in Iran been strengthened?"
America's 16 intelligence agencies agree that the most direct threat to the U.S. homeland is actually from the borderland between Afghanistan and Pakistan...
The question is: "Are we increasing any of our resources to combat al Qaeda in this region of the world?"
Lastly, the real issue here isn’t whether the "surge worked"; The real question is:
"Has the war in Iraq made America safer?"
The answer to that fundamental question, I believe, is a clear and resounding...
"No."
Now, our men and women in uniform have done everything that has been asked of them... bravely and with honor, but our military has been stretched to the breaking point, the Iraqi government still cannot fend for itself, and al Qaeda is a growing, not diminishing, global threat.
For 5 long years, from "Mission Accomplished" to the "Surge", the Administration has told us that things are getting better in Iraq. After 5 years of war, the reality is just the opposite. The Administration owes us honest answers to these, and many other questions. Thank you.