On October 11, 2002, the Congress, over the objections of many Members of the House and Senate, passed legislation giving the President the authority to use force in Iraq. At the time I was a vocal critic of the war, but unfortunately my voice, as well as thousands of others, was drowned out by misinformation from the administration.
In making its case, the administration threatened us that if we didn't act fast, the proof of Saddam's Weapons of Mass Destruction would "come in the form of a mushroom cloud." We were also told that the case against the war, and the evidence of a weapons' program was, "a slam dunk." Now, three and a half years later, the American public knows what many of us believed all along, that this administration, and our president, misled us about the case to go to war.
Six months after we invaded Iraq, President Bush stood aboard an aircraft carrier before a banner that read "Mission Accomplished," declaring that "major combat operations in Iraq are over." From that moment on, we were no longer fighting a war, but rather participating in an occupation.
-Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
An occupation cannot be won. The President has put our troops in a position they should not have gotten into in the first place.
Our troops were not prepared to occupy Iraq. They weren't given the proper equipment, nor were they properly trained. And most importantly, the US Congress never authorized this President to undertake an occupation.
This occupation of Iraq must end, now, and President Bush must bring our troops home.
That is why I am introducing the Iraq War Powers Repeal Act of 2006. It is past time for Congress to demand that the Bush Administration come clean on Iraq, and put the safety of our troops, and the security of our nation first.
By repealing the Iraq War Powers, Congress would resume its Constitutional role overseeing the use of military force, and would reassert its authority by bringing our troops home.
Of course, the passage of this bill will be an up-hill struggle, but it is a fight that we can no longer avoid. Rescinding the President's war powers in Iraq is the least that we can do for our troops, and for their families who anxiously await their return. With over 2,550 brave men and women having given their lives, and thousands seriously wounded, how many more must die before we put an end to this madness?
This is one more step in putting and end to occupation. It is time to pass the "Iraq War Powers Repeal Act of 2006."
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