Pelosi: House and Senate Passage of Iraq Bill Takes US in a New Direction in Iraq

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Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke at a press conference in the Capitol this afternoon with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, senior House and Senate Democrats, and Iraq war veterans after the Senate passed the Iraq Accountability Act by a vote count of 51 to 46. Below are Pelosi's opening remarks:


"Thank you very much, Mr. Leader.

"It is with great pride that I stand with you after the passage in the
Senate today, and yesterday in the House, of this legislation that takes us
in a new direction in Iraq.

"I have said that the war in Iraq is the greatest ethical challenge
facing our nation. How ethical is it to send our troops into harm's way,
into war without the training, the equipment and a plan for success? How
ethical is it to place them in the middle of a civil war, undermining and
straining our military?

"How ethical is it to do that, to diminish our capacity to fight the
war on terrorism, to fight any threat to the interest of the United States
wherever it may occur, at home or abroad?

"How ethical is it to destroy our reputation in the world, diminishing
our ability to be a force against terrorism and a leader in the world?

"In the last election, the American people called for a new direction.
Nowhere were they more firm in that new direction being necessary than in
the war in Iraq.

"This legislation presents that new direction by supporting the troops;
indeed, giving the president more than he asked for, for the troops; by
honoring our commitments to our veterans.

"How ethical is it for us to dishonor our commitment to our veterans
when they come from war, instead of treating them as the heroes they are?

"It holds the Iraqi government accountable. It holds the Administration
accountable as well. And it helps to rebuild our military.

"It's a good bill. It's a bill for a new direction in Iraq. It is a
bill that, hopefully, will wind down this war and bring our troops home
safely and soon.

"And it is an honor for me to present one of those veterans of the war
in Iraq, a person who is part of the initial invasion of Iraq and has been
very outspoken in his opinion of what is happening there, John Bruhns."


http://speaker.house.gov/