Dianne Feinstein: “we have before us today a supplemental appropriations bill that will finally start the process of bringing our troops…”

“we have before us today a supplemental appropriations bill that will finally start the process of bringing our troops home. The United States today is in its fifth year in Iraq. The administration offers no apparent road out of Iraq. It offers only an escalation plan that keeps growing, and an open-ended commitment to a civil war. The Congress of the United States has an obligation to express its voice on this matter and to offer a solution. The search for a solution has been difficult. We have come to the floor many times this year, and we have struggled to find the right course of action. I believe that path is before us today. This legislation would initiate the orderly drawdown of our forces and redefine the mission for a small supporting force that would remain. It sets benchmarks for the administration and for the Iraqi Government. This legislation calls for actions which this administration has stubbornly resisted, including the prompt phased redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq. This redeployment would begin within 120 days of the legislation being enacted. The legislation sets a goal of March 31, 2008, for redeploying major combat forces from Iraq. A smaller force would be allowed to remain, with its mission limited to protecting American and coalition personnel and infrastructure, training and equipping Iraqi forces, and conducting targeted counterterrorism operations.”