Rep. Mike Thompson's letter on Iraq

I wrote my congressman, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-01) the other day, and this was he reply. Obviously, I'm gratified to have this kind of representation in Washington:

Dear Mr. Ross:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the U.S. military presence in Iraq. I appreciate you taking the time to express your concerns to me on this very important issue.

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), the leading Democrat in the House on military affairs, has proposed a plan of action for Iraq and I commend my colleague for his courageous leadership. I agree with Rep. Murtha that American troops should be redeployed from Iraq as soon as practicable.

It has been this leadership and honesty with the American people that has been lacking in the President's position on the war in Iraq. "Stay the course" is not a strategy for success. It is little more than hollow rhetoric that offers no real vision of how we can ever extricate ourselves from this misguided incursion without further destabilizing the entire region.

We can and should begin to redeploy our troops as soon as possible after the Iraqi people ratify their Constitution in July 2006. In the months leading up to the Iraqi election in July, we need to make it clear to the Iraqi people that we do not intend to occupy their country or maintain permanent military bases there. And it must be made clear to the world that the United States has no intention of controlling Iraq's oil production and oil wealth. At the same time, we need to serve notice on Iraq's neighbors that we will not tolerate their involvement in Iraq's sovereign affairs and will expect an immediate response from the international community should that occur.

By demonstrating our good faith with the Iraqi people, a solid majority of whom support our immediate withdrawal, we can reinvigorate diplomatic efforts to get the international community more involved in Iraq's reconstruction. It is clear that we need more partners. By the first of next year, more than half the "Coalition of the Willing," a scant 23,000 troops compared to our 160,000 troops, will have withdrawn their forces. As these coalition forces decline, the cost and burden on American troops and taxpayers will only increase.

Also, we need to hold our government accountable for how our tax dollars are being spent in Iraq, especially in terms of lucrative no-bid contracts to civilian corporations. I carried legislation that would have required the President to account for the money it is spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and will continue to advocate this position.

You may know that I did not support the President's plan to invade Iraq. I considered it to be an unnecessary distraction from hunting down those responsible for the attacks of 9/11. But, close to three years later, this is where we are and now we must find a rational and reasonable way out of this situation. We owe it to the men and women serving us in combat, to their families and to all the American people who are paying both the human and financial costs of this war.

Again, thank you for your comments and please continue to contact me on this or any other matter of concern to you.

Sincerely,

MIKE THOMPSON
Member of Congress
http://www.mikethompson.house.gov