Lynn C. Woolsey: “President Bush delivered a speech in Cleveland yesterday in which he said that ``Congress ought to wait.'' That is what…”

“President Bush delivered a speech in Cleveland yesterday in which he said that ``Congress ought to wait.'' That is what he said; Congress ought to wait for General Petraeus and his report on the surge in September before deciding what to do about Iraq. When I heard that remark, I thought to myself, I wonder what the President would like us to do while we are waiting? Does he think we should take up knitting? Should we empty out our committee rooms and use them for ballroom dancing lessons? Should we have a sign on the door of the House of Representatives that says, ``Gone Fishin' ''? The President's remark was, of course, outrageous. The American people did not send us to Washington to wait and to do nothing. They sent us here to take action, to end the occupation of Iraq, and that is what we must do. We cannot wait, because American troops continue to die. More than 600 have died since the troop surge began last winter. We cannot wait, because at least 13,500 Iraqi civilians have died since the escalation began, and that is according to very conservative estimates. We cannot wait, because the war is costing a staggering $10 billion every single month, more than $60 billion since the escalation began. We cannot wait, because the violence in Iraq is forcing tens of thousands of new refugees to flee their homes every single month. And we cannot wait, because the escalation has only escalated the violence.”