President Bush’s veto was recklessly irresponsible and shows just how out of touch the President is with the reality of the situation in Iraq and with the American public. The President is becoming further and further isolated by the day, as he lost the trust of the American people a long time ago and now, even his longtime political friends are abandoning him on Iraq. And for good reason! The legislation the President vetoed was the first legislation that would have set responsible timetables to bring our troops safely out of Iraq. This veto not only shows complete disregard for the will of the American people, but it also places our troops in danger by leaving them in the middle of a civil war in Iraq.
It is an outrage and the people of this Country are incensed. The President had four years to implement a successful policy in Iraq and he failed. We’re in the fifth year of the war in Iraq, and ironically the veto came almost four years to the day since the President declared “mission accomplished” in his flight suit on the USS Abraham Lincoln. But the situation in Iraq is dire and getting worse under President Bush’s leadership. The President’s strategy “to escalate the war by sending even more troops into Iraq” has only led to more bombing and death. In the past six months, the rate of Americans killed in Iraq has reached its highest level ever, despite four years of fighting.
Even the “green zone” isn’t safe. Clearly the president is not facing the reality of the situation in Iraq. We must bring our troops safely home from Iraq in short order. After four years, more than 3,350 American troops losing their lives, unknown tens of thousands of US and Iraqi citizens wounded, and over $400 billion spent, the President’s mismanaged war in Iraq is far from a “mission accomplished” -- the American people have sacrificed enough. Instead of changing strategies the President is stubbornly doubling down on his failed policy and sending more and more men and women into harm’s way. The only thing worse than mismanaging the war in Iraq for more than four years is to reject a responsible exit strategy supported by Congress, military experts, and the majority of the American people that would safely redeploy our troops out of Iraq and bring an end the war.
With this veto, the President has done just that. The American people are fed up with the President’s failed policy, and Congress has finally acted to bring an end to the war. The President was presented with a clear choice: to join Congress, countless generals and other high-ranking military officials, veterans, military families, and our nation’s governors in working to find a safe, responsible way to bring an end to the war or he could stubbornly choose to go it alone and continue his failed policy of unending war. Unfortunately, the President chose to go it alone, leaving our troops in harm’s way and threatening our national security. With this veto, the President is showing himself to be a reckless, stubborn, and arrogant Commander in Chief, clinging to his failed policies because he doesn’t want to face the reality of the mess in Iraq. Given the President’s record, it really wasn’t surprising that he chose to cling to his failed policy rather than change course. But that doesn’t make it any less outrageous. It also doesn’t make it any less devastating for the troops being sent into harm’s way, their families, and all of us who hold out hope for a responsible end to the war.
Even in the face of this veto, we will not be silenced. Mr. President, It’s time to bring our troops home safely and bring an end to the war in Iraq. And here in PA we will remain active and continue to rally, protest, hold press conferences, call our Members of Congress and write letters to the editor until our troops are safely home from Iraq. It is past time to end this war and bring our troops home!!