John Shadegg: “Mr. Speaker, I have the greatest respect for the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, the gentleman from Missouri…”

“Mr. Speaker, I have the greatest respect for the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton). I honor him and respect him deeply. But this legislation is deeply and fatally flawed. It will damage America and American interests for two reasons: First, it is a purely political document, hopelessly vague and meaningless. Let me explain why. The bill turns on two key terms. One, that the United States transition to a ``limited presence'' in Iraq within the next 120 days; and, two, that the President provide a justification of ``the minimum force levels required to protect the United States' national security interests in Iraq.'' While I am pleased that the authors recognize that we are in Iraq to protect our national security interests, again, the legislation is hopelessly vague and therefore meaningless. Neither of these two key terms, ``limited presence'' and ``minimum force level required to protect U.S. national security interests'' is defined.”