Ellison Resolution Urges President to Accept Iraqi Government Call for a Timetable of U.S. Troop Withdrawal
Submitted by davidswanson on Thu, 2008-07-10 20:30.
Washington, D.C. -- Congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minneapolis) introduced a Congressional Resolution today expressing the sense of Congress to accept the Iraqi Government’s stated goal of setting a timetable for withdrawal of American troops, and calling on President Bush to honor his pledge to leave Iraq when the Iraqi government asked us to do so.
“Mr. President, you have long said we would stay in Iraq until the day the Iraqis asked us to leave. That day has come. Three days ago, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki spoke before a gathering of Arab Ambassadors and called ‘either for the departure of (U.S.) forces or a memorandum of understanding to put a timetable on their withdrawal’,” Ellison stated.
The Iraqi Prime Minister further stated that any agreement regarding a United States military role in Iraq should be based on “respect for the full sovereignty of Iraq.”
Ellison’s resolution makes an unequivocal statement that the United States does not seek a long-term or permanent presence in Iraq would send a strong signal to the people of Iraq and the international community that the United States fully supports setting a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. Armed Forces from Iraq.
“Over four thousand of America’s best and brightest have given the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq in the last five years, and over 30,000 Americans have been gravely wounded. We have borrowed over $535 BILLION from our children’s future to finance this war – over $340 MILLION per day – enough to fund over 2 Million elementary school teachers each year, or provide over 40 MILLION Americans with health care for one year. It’s time to bring our brave troops home and start investing in America again,” Ellison said.
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