Today, Democrats in the House of Representatives sent legislation (H.R. 2956) to the floor to begin an abrupt troop withdrawal starting within the next 120 days, and to be complete by April 1, 2008. The measure passed by a vote of 223 to 201. Following the vote, Congressman Conaway made this statement:
“For the sixth time this year, my colleagues are attempting to take on the role of Commander in Chief and make the irrational decision to pull out of Iraq. By blatantly allowing political considerations to trump national security priorities, Democrats are doing a disservice to Congress, our troops in harm’s way, and the American people. The brave young men and women who are putting their lives on the line every day to defend our freedom deserve better than to be treated like political wages by their elected representatives. Retreating from Iraq now would have catastrophic consequences and I cannot and will never support legislation of this kind.”
“The Resolution calls for the retreat to begin within 120 days of enactment. We are anxiously awaiting the report from General Petraeus, which is due within 60 days, and will be the basis for a sound evaluation of our next step. We should have the report in-hand before we decide what we will do next.”
