Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold On the Letter to President Bush from Democratic Leaders Regarding Iraq April 4, 2008 “I am deeply disappointed with the letter sent by Democratic leaders to the President regarding Iraq. Rather than calling on the President to redeploy our troops from Iraq, it endorses a plan put forward by General Petraeus that could entail leaving tens of thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq indefinitely. This would be dangerous for our troops, further the perception that we are occupying Iraq, provoke instability in the country and the region, and keep us from focusing on the global al Qaeda threat. “Contrary to what the letter suggests, we should not be waiting around for a ‘political accommodation which will allow us to reduce U.S. troop levels substantially.’ We must redeploy our troops to break the paralysis that now grips U.S. strategy in the region.” The letter Senator Feingold is referencing can be found at http://democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=295600&

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