Lynn C. Woolsey: “last week British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that more than 1,600 British soldiers would be sent home from…”

“last week British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that more than 1,600 British soldiers would be sent home from Iraq. By recalling troops from Iraq, the British government has sent a very clear message that increasing the number of troops is not the right strategy. In fact, the British government has come to the same conclusion that many Americans have reached almost 4 years ago. We should be ending the military occupation of Iraq, not expanding it. We should be supporting the men and women who have served bravely in Iraq by sending them home, not sending them back for their fourth or their fifth tour of duty after only a very few months of spending time with their families. The British government's decision to scale back its military commitment in Iraq should have been another important wake up call to President Bush. However, the President has continued his course to go it alone, regardless of the staggering costs to our Nation. President Bush has drained America's reservoir of goodwill by ignoring the facts on the ground, the advice of his generals, and the will of the American public. By stubbornly pursuing the same misguided policies over and over again, he has left it to Congress to stop him. Two weeks ago, the House took an important first step by overwhelmingly passing a bipartisan resolution condemning the President's decision to send more than 20,000 additional American soldiers to the front lines.”