Remarks of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
On 5th Anniversary of the Authorization of the
Use of Military Force in Iraq
As Prepared for Delivery
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October 24, 2007
Mr. President, earlier this week marked the five year anniversary of
President Bush signing the congressional resolution that authorized
him to use military force in Iraq. That resolution has proved to be
a disaster for our country, opening the door to a war that has undermined
our top national security priority – the fight against al Qaeda
and its affiliates.
Five years after the authorization of war, America is mired in a conflict
that continues to have no end in sight. Nearly 4,000 of our soldiers
have died and more than 27,000 have been wounded. Hundreds of thousands
of Iraqi civilians have been killed, if not more, and at least 4.5 million
have been displaced from their homes. The region is more unstable and
our credibility throughout the international community has been significantly
damaged. We have spent over a half trillion dollars and stretched our
military to the breaking point. Who knows how many more billions will
be spent and how many brave Americans will die while the President pursues
a military solution to problems that can only be resolved by a political
settlement in Iraq.
At the same time, al Qaeda has reconstituted itself along the Afghanistan-Pakistan
border region and has developed new affiliates around the globe. Al
Qaeda has been strengthened - not weakened - since we authorized military
action against -- and then went to war in -- Iraq.
Indeed, this senseless war has made us more vulnerable, not more secure.
And yet it continues endlessly with only a small, token drawdown of
forces expected in the coming months and no timeline from this administration
as to when more troops will come home.
The American people know that this war doesn’t make sense. They
expect us to do everything in our power to end it. That doesn’t
mean neglecting domestic priorities, and there are plenty of those to
address. But it does mean that we cannot in good conscience put Iraq
on the backburner. We cannot simply tell ourselves, and our constituents,
that we have done everything we could. Finding the votes to end this
war is not an easy task, but for the sake of the country, we must keep
trying. I, for one, am not prepared to say in mid-October, with weeks
to go before we adjourn for the year, that Iraq can wait until we come
back in 2008.
Believe me, the administration and its supporters would like nothing
better than to change the subject from Iraq. Every time that we insist
on debates and votes on Iraq, they complain loudly that we are taking
time away from the country’s true priorities. As we were reminded
last November, however, ending the disastrous Iraq war is one of the
American people’s top priorities. It may well be their top priority,
and we owe it to them to make it ours, as well.
While the administration continues to refuse to acknowledge that we
have severely strayed off course, the war drags on and on and more brave
American soldiers are being wounded or killed. But it is not only the
President and his administration that is at fault. Many of my colleagues
here in Congress have expressed concerns about the war but refused to
take action to end it. They have prevented Congress from acting to secure
our country and restore our global leadership.
I will not stand idly by while this mistaken war continues. I will
continue working to end this war and bring our troops home, and I will
continue looking in the days and weeks ahead for opportunities to debate
and vote on ending the war – this year, and, if necessary, next
as well. My colleagues may complain, they may be inconvenienced, they
may prefer to focus on other matters. But this Congress has no greater
priority than making right the mistake it made five years ago when it
authorized this misguided war. I do not want to have to come to the
floor again in a year to mark another anniversary of the war’s
authorization, and to again implore my colleagues to act. I do not want
the American people to lose faith in their elected leaders for pursuing
a war that they rightly oppose. And I do not want more American troops
to be killed for a war that does not serve our national security interests.
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