Iraq: Disaster's Already Here-- Russ Feingold's WaPo LTTE

Iraq: Disaster's Already Here

Thursday, January 18, 2007; Page A22

The Jan. 14 editorial "Congressional Pushback" said that Congress "would invite a catastrophe" if it ended funding for the Iraq war. In fact, the situation in Iraq is already a catastrophe, one that has taken more than 3,000 American lives, endangers 140,000 brave U.S. troops and now, if the president has his way, will put 21,500 more troops in harm's way.

The president has made clear that he has no intention of ending this disastrous war. It is up to Congress to do what is right for our troops and for our national security, which has been badly damaged by diverting so many resources into Iraq.

Congress must use the power of the purse to put an end to our involvement in the war in Iraq. Any effort to cut funding must ensure that our troops are not put in even more danger and that important counterterrorism missions are still carried out. By specifying a deadline after which funding for the war will be ended, Congress can give the president the time needed to plan and to redeploy our troops safely from Iraq.

The war was a mistake from the beginning, and the mistake cannot be remedied by leaving our troops in Iraq indefinitely or, worse, by sending more troops. By finally setting a limit to our involvement in this misguided war in Iraq, we can redeploy our troops from that country and begin to refocus on the global terrorist networks that continue to threaten the United States.

RUSS FEINGOLD

U.S. Senator (D-Wis.)

Washington

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/17/AR2007011701809.html

Saudia Arabia is the country we should have gone after in the 9/11 debachle.