The President said he would take “every proposal” from the Iraq Study Group’s Report “seriously”, but one has to question how “seriously” he really took the recommendations.  The bipartisan Iraq Study Group Report provided a detailed framework for moving forward in Iraq and included a plan to redeploy our troops from Iraq by March of 2008.  Chairman James Baker warned Bush not to treat the report like “a fruit salad” and cherry picking only a few of the recommendations, because the report was designed as a “comprehensive strategy”.  Instead of cherry picking the report, President Bush chose instead to throw the entire Iraq Study Group Report out the window. 

After Bush announced his plan to escalate the Iraq War, Barack Obama introduced the "Iraq War De-escalation act" to redeploy troops from Iraq by March of 2008 just as the Iraq Study Group called for. The Congress followed Obama's lead and passed a bipartisan comprehensive supplemental bill to both fund our troops and to provide a plan to begin the redeployment of our troops. Despite the bipartisan support for this legislation, President Bush believes that he has no accountability to the American People or the Congress.   He has vowed to veto any bill that actually has a plan for changing course in Iraq.   He is thumbing his nose at the American people in support of a stay-the-course-more-of-the-same strategy believing he can do the same thing over and over and get a different result.   President Bush has no plan for creating the political reconciliation necessary for solving the underlying causes for the Iraqi civil war.  His plan is to put more American lives at risk until he can hand this disastrous war over to the next President.

Now President Bush plans to further escalate the war for an even greater length of time.  Today NBC News has learned that an additional 12,000 National Guard troops will be sent to Iraq within a year in addition to the over 28,000 troops already being sent as part of the initial escalation.  This would include four combat brigades from the National Guard. I believe that this President’s plan is hurting America and carelessly endangering our troops by recklessly overextending our military.  Using our National Guard in this manner weakens our national defense, and puts undue stress on the families of our National Guard.  If Bush plans to send our National Guard to Iraq because there aren't enough troops to sustain a prolonged war, how long will it be before we pull our Army Reserve members from their jobs and families for another tour in Iraq? 

I have been against cutting funding for the war because I felt it could hurt the troops and the moral of our troops; however, since President Bush has demonstrated that he seeks to only further escalate the war and create further loss of American lives and treasure, I have concluded that this President is the one undermining the troop moral.  I now believe that the only way to prevent this President from escalating a war which has lasted longer than U.S. involvement in World War II is to force this President to bring our troops home from Iraq.  This President has no interest in listening to Congress, respected military advisors or the American People, therefore, the Congress must use its Constitutional authority as a co-equal branch of government to do the right thing, and cut the funding for this war.  I don't come to this conclusion easily.  I have been lead to this point because this President refuses to listen and I believe he has left us no choice.  The American people want the Iraqis to take control of their own country.  They understand that as long as we are in Iraq, our presence prevents the Iraqis from taking the responsibility for their own nation and reconciling their own political differences. 

Our troops have served bravely and brilliantly, but American troops cannot solve the political underpinnings of a sectarian civil war between the Sunni and Shiites which has been brewing for centuries.  I have weighed the consequences for cutting funding for the war, and the risks of not acting far outweigh allowing this failed strategy to continue.  I have concluded that it is better to prevent this President from escalating a war without end and preventing further compromise of our national security here at home, than to do what may be politically convenient for a political party and simply bow to the pressure from the President.  

This President has not had been held accountable by Congress for the past 6 years, and he still believes that he can do everything his way with callous disregard for the checks and balances provided by the Constitution. We now have an opportunity to hold this Administration accountable for its failure in Iraq.  This President has not told the truth about why we went to war in Iraq, has not told the truth about how much sacrifice in blood and treasure we would have to make in Iraq, and has not told the American people what constitutes success in Iraq.  We need a change in strategy and we have to come to terms with the toll this war has taken on our country.  The next President has a great deal of work to do to reestablish our credibility around the world, and to dig us out of the giant hole dug by the Bush Administration’s policy in Iraq.  We need to start that process now!  We can't afford to wait another two years until the next President is elected.  How many more American lives have to be lost?  How many billions of dollars must be spent? How much more isolated from the rest of the world must we become before we finally realize that this war is not going to be won militarily?  We can’t afford to wait and find out.  Congress must act, and it must act now!