Washington, DC – Today U.S. Representative John Hall (D-NY19) released the following statement following passage of the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act, a measure that would require a responsible redeployment of U.S. troops beginning within 120 days and ending by April 1, 2008.

 

"Today’s vote gave the President yet another opportunity to listen to the will of the American people and end this mistaken war in Iraq.

 

The President’s path has left our troops in the middle of Iraq’s civil war, weakened U.S. national security, and is devastating our military’s ability to fight.  The President refuses to listen to his own State Department’s report that shows that the Taliban is reemerging as a dominant force in Afghanistan and that Iraq is quickly becoming a haven for terrorists.

 

Our men and women in uniform have performed bravely and have worked to achieve every mission their leadership has given them.  While our troops have performed heroically in Iraq, the Administration concedes that violence remains high, that the Iraqi government has failed to meet any of the benchmarks endorsed by the President in January, and that political reconciliation is non-existent.

 

We spend roughly $1 million dollars for every 5 minutes we spend in Iraq, for a war that has made us less safe and has weakened our military.

 

It is time we end this war."

 

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