Iraq Veteran Calls for Accountability, Change of Course in Democratic Radio Address

[liberalnurse]

I wish I had an audio clip of this Democratic Weekly Radio Address for 3/31/07 by Lt. Col. Andrew Horne (ret., U.S. Marine Corps. It was terrific!!!!!!!!

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-31-2007/0004557150&EDATE=

I have the transcript but no audio. I heard it on C-Span last night.

Here is the transcript link with a snip or two.:

Iraq Veteran Calls for Accountability, Change of Course in Democratic Radio Address:

WASHINGTON, March 31 /PRNewswire-USNewsire/ -- Lt. Col. Andrew Horne
(ret., U.S. Marine Corps) delivers the Democratic Radio Address this week, calling for a new direction in Iraq and seeking accountability from the administration. A senior advisor to VoteVets.org, Horne urges the president to work with Congress on recently passed legislation that provides support and resources for the troops where the President's failed policies have not. The President's veto threat would delay funding for the troops and keep them policing an Iraqi civil war. Democrats will not stop fighting for the change the American people demand.

The text of Horne's radio address, as delivered, is below.
Good Morning. I'm Andrew Horne, coming to you from Louisville, KY. I served in the United States Marine Corps for 27 years, including time in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm, and then again in 2004 and 2005 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I am proud of my service, and very proud of those men and women currently in harm's way who are doing their best in a terribly difficult situation.

When I deployed to Iraq, I believed what the President and his advisors said about the necessity of the war. I believed that the decision-makers in Washington would make sure we had everything we needed to get the job done, and we wouldn't be there any longer than we absolutely had to. What I saw there changed my mind. I saw troops riding in Humvees without the proper armor and units dangerously undermanned for the mission they were asked to accomplish. Most
importantly, I saw that while we won every battle, there was little good we could do militarily unless the Iraqis took responsibility for resolving their political differences. Yet no one in Washington offered benchmarks for success that would motivate the Iraqis to resolve their differences and lead us home.

In short, the Commander-in-Chief has failed to properly lead the
troops, and previous Congresses didn't ask the tough questions, or demand accountability. The result is the mess we are in today. This week, the majority in Congress has taken the lead in providing for
our troops. Supplemental spending bills passed by the House and Senate
provide a much-needed change in the President's Iraq policy. This
legislation also provides billions for our troops, giving them the proper protection and training they need to survive in Iraq, as well as funds to fix Walter Reed, provide health care to our troops and veterans, and research and heal traumatic brain injuries that many troops suffered.

Some of the top generals who served this nation with honor have
endorsed what the House and Senate passed. The bills closely mirror what was proposed by the non-partisan Iraq Study Group that was appointed by President Bush. I know my fellow troops are eager to get what the bills provide. At the same time, these bills both demand something that previous Congresses did not -- accountability from the administration. Both bills demand that the President continue to verify that we are moving Iraqtowards stability, and that we are on track to disengage our combat troops from the Iraqi Civil War by 2008.

Accountability is something this administration has demanded of
everyone else. Go to the website of the White House, and put in a search for the word "accountability." What comes up is a list of nearly 2,000 pages on the site that mention the word....Right there in the President's first major policy proposal, the first, bullet point in the brief on the No Child Left Behind Act reads: "Increase
Accountability for Student Performance: States, districts and schools that improve achievement will be rewarded. Failure will be sanctioned." It's ironic that an administration that has touted its commitment to tying accountability to funding for things like schools or social programs is so opposed to any performance evaluation itself, especially with American lives on the line.