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Braley Speaks in Opposition to President Bush’s Iraq Escalation Plan

Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Waterloo) made the following statement on the floor of the House of Representatives in support of the Iraq War resolution condemning the President’s plan to escalate the war in Iraq:

“I grew up surrounded by heroes.  My father, Byard Braley, enlisted in the Marine Corps when he was 17, and landed on Iwo Jima the same day that the flag was raised on Mount Suribachi.  Thirty thousand Marines and Japanese soldiers died in one month on an island the size of my hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa.  My father saw one of his best friends vaporized by a shell burst, but we never learned that until fifteen years after he died.

“The night after my father landed on Iwo Jima, another Marine from my home town slept under that flag as Japanese bombs flew overhead.  Harold Keller was the real deal.  He was the second Marine to reach the summit of Mount Suribachi, and he single-handedly fought off the first counterattack on the flag raisers immortalized in Flags of Our Fathers.  When he came home, he repaired milking equipment for area farmers.

“My uncle Gordon Braley served in the Merchant Marine, protecting the Allied shipping lanes in the North Atlantic.  My uncle Bert Braley served in the Army Air Corps, and my uncle Lyle Nesselroad served in the Navy.  My cousin Dick Braley was a Marine Corps artillery officer at a fire base in Vietnam.

“These ordinary men taught me that patriotism is not something you claim by putting down others who disagree with your viewpoints … it’s something you earn by the way you live your life, and the respect you have for the institutions that make the United States a great beacon of liberty, freedom and justice.  

“When I return to my home in Waterloo, Iowa, I am still surrounded by heroes. These heroes belong to the Ironman Battalion of the Iowa National Guard.   They are approximately 560 fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters from Waterloo, Dubuque, Oelwein, and everywhere in between.  

“One of them, Ray Zirkelbach, is missing his second consecutive year in the Iowa House of Representatives because their latest tour was recently extended.  A flag is draped over his desk in the House Chamber. These heroes are the reason why I stand here today in opposition to the President’s plan to escalate the war in Iraq.  

“On November 7, 2006, the voters of this country went to the polls and clearly stated that it was time for a new direction in Iraq.  

“Soon after, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group presented President Bush with a desperately needed blueprint for change.  They recognized that the deteriorating crisis in Iraq couldn’t be solved by military action; instead, it required a political solution between warring factions for a stable democracy to evolve.  

“The Iraq Study Group recognized that “stay the course” was a failed strategy, and that three prior troop surges had done little to quell the growing violence.  They knew that the Iraqis would never get serious about standing up for their own country until they were confronted with a timetable for redeploying our forces.

“After I was sworn in as a member of Congress on January 4th, I hoped that President Bush would listen to the advice of this bipartisan group whose recommendations he “welcomed.”  I hoped that the President would move to fulfill the promise of the Defense Authorization Act for 2006, when this Congres stated that:

"2006 would be a period of significant transition in Iraq, with the Iraqi security forces taking the lead” for their own security, so we could begin a phased redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq.’

"Instead, the President ignored the recommendations of the bipartisan Study Group and chose to escalate the war in Iraq without charting a new course.

“To my friends on the other side of the aisle who disagree with the resolution we’re debating today, by all means, vote your conscience.  I will be voting my conscience and joining well-known Republicans who agree that the escalation is a mistake.

“People like Senator Chuck Hagel of my neighboring state of Nebraska, who called the President’s escalation plan, “the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam, if it’s carried out.”

“People like former Iowa Representative Jim Leach who said that the President’s policy in Iraq may go down as “the greatest foreign policy blunder in U.S. History.”

“Well-respected military experts also oppose this escalation, including Generals Colin Powell, George Casey, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  

“The President truly stands alone with a strategy that his own generals, key Republicans, and the American people oppose.

“The time is long overdue for the People’s House to reassert its rightful place in our Constitutional system of checks and balances.  We have a duty to send a message that it’s time for a real change in Iraq: change characterized by accountability and redeployment of our troops.

“There will be no more blank check; there will be tough questions and oversight, and I will work hard on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee to ensure that these tough questions are asked.

“That’s why I’m proud to cosponsor House Resolution 787, the Iraq War De-Escalation Act, which urges the President follow the timetable for redeployment established by the bipartisan Study Group.

“My first job in Congress is to represent the constituents who sent me here.

“It’s my duty to stand up for the everyday heroes from Iowa who served this country in past conflicts.  It’s also my duty to stand up for today’s heroes who serve our country so bravely in the National Guard and the military.

“And it’s my job to speak out for my constituents, who sent me here to stand up for a new direction in Iraq.

“This resolution is an important first step toward changing our course there.  

“I agree with the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group: it’s time for a new Iraq strategy that keeps our brave men and women safe and begins to turn Iraq over to the Iraqis so our troops can start to come home.

“That’s why I support this resolution and oppose President Bush’s plan to escalate the war.”