Escalation: It's Not His Decision :kick:
George Bush will speak to the nation tomorrow, and every
indication is that he will announce an escalation of the war
in Iraq. Such a military escalation would not strengthen our
national security -- instead it would further weaken it by
enabling the Iraqis to avoid taking responsibility for their
own future.
Thankfully, escalation is not President Bush's decision to
make. He must have the people's consent.
For too long Congress refused to hold the White House
accountable for its failed policies in Iraq. It endangered
the lives of our brave young men and women in uniform for a
civil war that has no military solution.
No more. Democrats swept the November elections because
Americans wanted George Bush's policies challenged by the
branch of government constitutionally charged with
representing the people.
I'm headed to the National Press Club right now, where I
will announce legislation that will prevent any further
escalation in Iraq until two important things happen: the
president presents a plan for success and Congress approves
it.
One misguided politician cannot simply decide to drop tens
of thousands more troops into the middle of a civil war. As
Speaker Pelosi said on Sunday, "If the president wants to
add to this mission, he is going to have to justify it."
Tell the president that we will not allow an escalation in
Iraq without the people's consent -- support this
legislation now:
http://www.tedkennedy.com/ourdecisionOne key fact even George Bush cannot ignore: Congress never
authorized what what's happening in Iraq now.
In 2002, the Bush Administration's case for war focused on
Saddam's supposed stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction
and alleged ties to al Qaeda. In October of the same year
Congress authorized a war against the regime of Saddam
Hussein, not to send our troops into a civil war. I voted
against the resolution and feel an escalation of this war
only compounds the original mistake of going in the first
place.
In 2007, Saddam Hussein is dead. Weapons of mass destruction
were never found -- nor was any evidence that Saddam and al
Qaeda were working together.
The 2002 authorization for the use of force has nothing to
do with today's reality. Back then it was simply bad policy.
Today, when it comes to escalation, it is obsolete.
A serious escalation of the war requires the people's
consent. Our Commander in Chief has shown that he is
seriously out of touch. He has ignored the reality that Iraq
is embroiled in a civil war. When military generals spoke
out against escalation, he replaced them. When voters
clearly demanded an end to the war, he decided to escalate
instead.
Never has America's system of checks and balances been so
threatened, and never has the courage to act been more
important.
Escalating the war in Iraq is not President Bush's decision
alone. He must ask for the people's consent -- and
Congressional approval is the only way he can get it.
Please add your name to the list of Americans who demand a
voice in the debate over escalation:
http://www.tedkennedy.com/ourdecisionMy legislation is simple: it states that any substantial new
commitment in Iraq requires a plan from the administration
and explicit authorization from Congress.
Whether you believe that escalation would be a grave
mistake, or whether you're part of the dwindling minority
willing to increase the scale of this misguided adventure,
it would be irresponsible to continue to issue the president
a blank check.
We must have a full debate about the course ahead. Senators
and Representatives should have a vote on whether the
president may spend more money and risk more lives for an
expanded operation in Iraq.
If George Bush wants to ignore the advice of the military,
and the findings of the Iraq Study Group, he's going to have
to make his case and get the consent of the people through
their elected representatives.
Iraq has become George Bush's Vietnam, and it's up to you
and me to ensure that history doesn't repeat itself any
longer. Please sign the petition supporting this important
legislation:
http://www.tedkennedy.com/ourdecisionThe Iraqi people need to take responsibility for their own
future.
But our only hope for change over there is if we, the
American people, take control our own destiny here at home.
Thank you.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy
P. S. Here's an excerpt from the latest draft of my speech:
The American people sent a clear message in November that we
must change course in Iraq and begin to withdraw our troops,
not escalate their presence. The way to start is by acting
on the President's new plan. An escalation, whether it is
called a surge or any other name, is still an escalation,
and I believe it would be an immense new mistake. It would
compound the original misguided decision to invade Iraq. We
cannot simply speak out against an escalation of troops in
Iraq. We must act to prevent it.
Today I am introducing legislation to reclaim the rightful
role of Congress and the people's right to a full voice in
the President's plan to send more troops to Iraq. My bill
will say that no additional troops can be sent and no
additional dollars can be spent on such an escalation,
unless and until Congress approves the President's plan.
My proposal will not diminish our support for the forces we
already have in Iraq. We will continue to do everything we
can to make sure they have all the support they truly need.
Even more important, we will continue to do all we can to
bring them safely home. The best immediate way to support
our troops is by refusing to inject more and more of them
into the cauldron of a civil war that can be resolved only
by the people and government of Iraq.
This bill will give all Americans -- from Maine to Florida
to California to Alaska and Hawaii -- an opportunity to hold
the President accountable for his actions. The President's
speech must be the beginning -- not the end -- of a new
national discussion of our policy in Iraq. Congress must
have a genuine debate over the wisdom of the President's
plan. Let us hear the arguments for it and against it. Then
let us vote on it in the light of day. Let the American
people hear -- yes or no -- where their elected
representatives stand on one of the greatest challenges of
our time.
Until now, a rubber stamp Republican Congress has refused to
hold the White House accountable on Iraq. But the November
election has dramatically changed all that. Over the past
two years, Democrats reached for their roots as true members
of our Party. We listened to the hopes and dreams of
everyday Americans. We rejected the politics of fear and
division. We embraced a vision of hope and shared purpose.
And the American people voted for change.
Many of us felt the authorization to go to war was a grave
mistake at the time. I've said that my vote against the war
in Iraq is the best vote I've cast in my 44 years in the
United States Senate.
But no matter what any of us thought then, the Iraq War
resolution is obviously obsolete today. It authorized a war
to destroy weapons of mass destruction. But there were no
WMDs to destroy. It authorized a war with Saddam Hussein.
But today, Saddam is no more. It authorized a war because
Saddam was allied with al Qaeda. But there was no alliance.
The mission of our armed forces today in Iraq bears no
resemblance whatever to the mission authorized by Congress.
President Bush should not be permitted to escalate the war
further, and send an even larger number of our troops into
harm's way, without a clear and specific new authorization
from Congress.
Our history makes clear that a new escalation in our forces
will not advance our national security. It will not move
Iraq toward self-government, and it will needlessly endanger
our troops by injecting more of them into the middle of a
civil war.
... Comparisons from history resonate painfully in today's
debate on Iraq. In Vietnam, the White House grew
increasingly obsessed with victory, and increasingly
divorced from the will of the people and any rational
policy. The Department of Defense kept assuring us that each
new escalation in Vietnam would be the last. Instead, each
one led only to the next.
There was no military solution to that war. But we kept
trying to find one anyway. In the end, 58,000 Americans died
in the search for it.
Echoes of that disaster are all around us today. Iraq is
George Bush's Vietnam.
As with Vietnam, the only rational solution to the crisis is
political, not military. Injecting more troops into a civil
war is not the answer. Our men and women in uniform cannot
force the Iraqi people to reconcile their differences.
The President may deny the plain truth. But the truth speaks
loudly and tragically. Congress must no longer follow him
deeper into the quagmire in Iraq.
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