San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi, leader of the House's minority Democrats, raised the stakes on the debate over the war in Iraq on Tuesday by introducing a resolution that if enacted would set the stage for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq. Pelosi's proposal, which she offered as an amendment to the $428 billion military appropriations bill, would direct that within 30 days of the legislation's adoption, President Bush "report on a strategy for success in Iraq.'' The House is expected to take up the bill Thursday.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/06/15/MNGCJD8J6P1.DTL
And she's asking for your help as a citizen cosponsor.
Now with the tide of public opinion turning, with new documentation of the lying that thrust this nation into war, with even some Republican House members calling for a withdrawal, I'm glad to see Democrats in Congress keeping up the pressure.
The report required by Pelosi's proposal would cover the capabilities of Iraqi military forces, their numbers, how prepared they are to take over from Americans, how many U.S. forces would have to stay in Iraq to help them, and what political progress is being made in the country. "This lays the groundwork for bringing our troops home and doing it in a realistic way about what the consequences are for bringing those troops home, '' Pelosi said in an interview Tuesday.
On the Senate side, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said Tuesday night that she will co-sponsor a similar resolution in the Senate introduced by Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis.
The House has already voted down resolutions offered by Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, and others that would direct Bush to start planning the withdrawal of the approximately 140,000 U.S. forces in Iraq. But Pelosi's proposal represents an intermediate step and by virtue of her leadership role raises the issue's profile in Washington.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/06/15/MNGCJD8J6P1.DTL
Here's is the full text of Pelosi's letter:
This Sunday is Father's Day, and many fathers in America are away from home. They are in Iraq, just as many mothers were on Mother's Day, fighting a war of choice, where we sent our young people into harm's way without leveling with the American people about the purpose of the war, without intelligence about what they were going to confront, without the equipment to protect them, and without a plan of what would happen after the fall of Baghdad. This is not the way to win a war.
Today, I have offered an amendment to the defense budget that will say to the President:
"Within 30 days of the enactment of this legislation, Congress expects an accounting from you as to what the strategy for success is. What are the security and political measures that you are putting forth that can lead us to bring our troops home?"
We can no longer afford to sit quietly while we wait for lights at the end of the tunnel and corners to be turned. It will take a clear, transparent process and input from both parties in Congress to win in Iraq, something that is impossible as long as we do not have a plan to work from. This amendment, along with a parallel one in the Senate, says that Democrats will no longer allow Congress and the American people to be marginalized from this process. It is critical to our chances of success in Iraq.
Today, I am asking you to join me in this demand. Please sign on as a citizen co-sponsor to this monumental amendment:
http://www.democraticaction.org/petitions/winningiraq.shtml
Right now Americans are losing faith in the Administration's ability to handle this dire situation, but we must stand together to demand a public declaration of strategy that we can all support, discuss, and respond to.
We in Congress must now take up legislation calling for $45 billion for the war in Iraq in addition to the hundreds of billions of dollars already appropriated for that war. This money has been spent in Iraq without question, without accountability, and without success.
Enough.
We all wish for the best possible outcome in Iraq, but willfully leaving ourselves in the dark by excusing the White House from presenting a plan does nothing to this end. To the contrary, it leaves the most important engagement of our government in the hands of a few obsessively secretive men whose track record at this point is abysmal.
Presenting a clear plan to the American public would not only restore our confidence in the mission, it would demonstrate to the world that our intentions are pure and that we have no desire for a prolonged occupation.
Please sign on to co-sponsor my demand for a Strategy for Success in Iraq:
http://www.democraticaction.org/petitions/winningiraq.shtml
No longer can we stand by and give the Administration the benefit of the doubt that they have a plan to get our troops home. The Administration has demanded complete control with complete secrecy, and Republicans in Congress have rewarded them with a complete lack of oversight. We need a plan, and we need a serious conversation outside of closed White House doors.
Sign up as citizen co-sponsor of this amendment today and tell them we NEED a plan - not open-ended questions. This is for the sake of our mission in Iraq and the soldiers that so nobly fight for it:
http://www.democraticaction.org/petitions/winningiraq.shtml
The consequences of our engagement in Iraq will resonate for generations to come, and we can no longer sit quietly while the Bush Administration dictates the future of the world we leave to our children. Thank you for standing with me and my fellow Democrats.
Sincerely,
Nancy Pelosi
Democratic Leader
P.S. - "If force is used imprecisely or out of frustration rather than clear analysis, the situation can be made worse." -- Colin Powell, 1992
Today, Democrats are working together behind this principle in the House and in the Senate to demand a plan from the Bush Administration - add your name alongside ours.