posted by DynamicDems
--------------------------- --------------------------- --------------------------- -------------------------
Kerry submits measure to pull out majority of troops from Iraq
By BOB DEANS Cox News Service
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
WASHINGTON — Sen. John Kerry introduced an amendment to the Pentagon spending bill on Monday that would require President Bush to bring all U.S. combat troops out of Iraq by year's end, leaving behind only a small rapid reaction team to fight terrorist groups and insurgents and enough soldiers to help train Iraqi security forces.
The bid marked the opening salvo in what's expected to be a week of debate on the way forward in Iraq, where 2,493 American troops have died since the U.S. invasion was launched three years ago. The House is set to debate Iraq policy on Thursday, part of an election-year strategy to draw distinctions between the two political parties.
(snip)
"Our troops have done their job," Kerry told reporters in a telephone interview. What remains to be done, he said, is chiefly to hammer out political solutions to disputes between Sunni and Shiite Iraqis. That must be done, said Kerry, by the Iraqis themselves, in a way that enables Iraqis to rid their country of Islamic militants who have come there chiefly to attack Americans.
"Iraq is actually empowering terrorists around the world and giving them greater cause for recruitment than they had before," said Kerry, accusing President Bush and his administration of "misfighting the war on terror."
(snip)
Kerry introduced the measure as an amendment to a bill that would authorize $509 billion in military spending for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. It includes $50 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus $68 billion in supplemental spending for those operations this year, according to an analysis by the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office.
--------------------------- --------------------------- -----------------------
Senator Kerry, in a recent e-mail is asking for support
"Dear XXXX,
No American leader can remain silent on Iraq.
The outcome of what is now a civil war in Iraq cannot be determined by American military force. It has to be solved by Iraqis brought together to hammer out their differences. Period. It is time for Iraqis to stand up for Iraq.
Our soldiers are fighting and dying in the third war in Iraq -- not the war for mythical weapons of mass destruction or the war President Bush said had to be fought against armies of foreign jihadists, but an escalating civil war between Sunni and Shia.
Meanwhile, dissent and debate are being stifled here at home. It's time to act -- and this week, perhaps as early as tomorrow, every U.S. Senator will have that chance.
In the next 24 hours, it is likely that the Senate will vote on my amendment which calls for the withdrawal of American combat troops from Iraq by the end of this year. For months, you and I have been pressing for this step. We've made it clear that we needed to set deadlines in Iraq -- and with the formation of an Iraqi unity government and the killing of Al-Zarqawi, this is a moment of truth in Iraq.
Now a critical vote is at hand. Our brave soldiers have done their work. It's time to put the future of Iraq in the hands of the Iraqi people.
Urge your Senators to support withdrawal of combat troops by the end of 2006
I don't know how many Senators will stand with me on this vote. But, I do know this: pushing the Iraqi government to coordinate with us on withdrawal of U.S. combat troops and pressing for the convening of a Dayton-like summit to reach a comprehensive political agreement for Iraq is the right thing to do. And we can't stop working for that outcome until we make it a reality.
Every Senator that chooses to stand with us will add momentum to our call for an end to the misguided and self-defeating policies of the Bush administration.
Urge your Senators to support withdrawal of combat troops by the end of 2006
Changing America's course in Iraq is one of the toughest political challenges you and I have ever taken on. But, we won't relent until we get the job done -- and we have to make the most of every opportunity to make ourselves heard.
I will be making myself heard on the floor of the United States Senate -- loudly and clearly. You can make our call for a dramatic change in direction even louder and clearer. Please don't hesitate before acting.
Sincerely,
John Kerry"
| < Another Kennedy Who Will NEVER Be President | Interesting Q & A at Pres Press Conf > |