Dear Senator Durbin,
As a resident of Illinois, I was disappointed recently to see your remarks concerning the extra 50 billion dollars that the Administration is looking to include in its supplemental this September.
"Though he said he is likely to approve the increased request -- it would accompany a pending request for an additional $147 billion in war funding -- Durbin said he would work to attach conditions to it that would require troops to begin coming home in the spring." - Chicago Tribune
During that period, I have voted for Democrats. I have volunteered for the party and contributed to our candidates. And yet I find it difficult to reconcile the quotes below with your recent comments. It is time to leave Iraq. It is time to stop funding this war. The President has the funding he needs to bring the troops home.
I have received numerous emails asking for support from you. Here are some quotes from those emails: ...
"Like my previous visits, I felt as though I was witnessing first-hand the worst foreign policy mistake in our nation's history." - My recent trip to the Middle East
"When the Senate reconvenes this September, I will make sure that bringing the war in Iraq to a close remains our top priority. " - My recent trip to the Middle East
"We have a clear majority in the Senate who support the proposed plan to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq" - Pulling an all-nighter on Iraq
"And no one -- not the President, not the Vice President, and no one in the Bush Administration -- should ever manipulate intelligence or smear their opponents in an effort to prop up their failed policies." - Bush's friends are above the law?
"The American people overwhelmingly support bringing our troops home. They understand that this war was a mistake, that it has hurt -- rather than strengthened -- our nation's security, and that creating stability in Iraq is primarily a political and economic challenge rather than a military challenge." - Tell President Bush: "End the war in Iraq"
"Oversight of the Iraq war is far and away the top priority for our community -- as it is for me and my fellow Democrats in Congress. We've already started examining all aspects of the war for the first time since it began nearly four years ago." - We've only just begun
"More than 60% named Iraq the top priority for this new Congress, and I couldn't agree more. I'm working with all of my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans alike, to build a solid bipartisan majority of Senators to stop this war and bring our soldiers home safely" - Are You With Me?
"Instead of moving in a new direction, the President's plan will increase our commitment in Iraq and put more and more of our troops in harm's way." - Bush's escalation: the wrong direction in Iraq
"Stay the course is a road off a cliff. With Claire McCaskill, Jim Webb, and Harold Ford, we can get back on solid ground and reclaim our America." - No Cheney Senate
As you have said yourself, this administration is on the wrong path. The American people "overwhelmingly support bringing the troops home". How are we supporting the troops, by funding a war we cannot win? How are we supporting the troops by extending their rotations? How are we supporting our troops, by bringing military equipment to a war zone and not being able to account for it?
50 billion dollars is a lot of money. For example, the UN postulates that for $40 billion, a year we could provide all developing countries with basic services or close the gap between the annual income of poor people and what it would take for them to no longer be poor. America would be far safer trying to help the poorest among us, rather than driving millions into refugee camps and poverty. Please end "the worst foreign policy mistake in our nation's history" and help our nation regain its standing in the world. Do not support additional funding to the war in Iraq.
Thank you