Lynn C. Woolsey: “last week, the President called for an enduring relationship with Iraq, a relationship that extends beyond his…”

“last week, the President called for an enduring relationship with Iraq, a relationship that extends beyond his administration. He did not tell us exactly how long this would last, but we have to have a good idea, because the White House and the Secretary of Defense have said that our involvement on the Korean peninsula should be the model for Iraq. That would mean they are planning to occupy Iraq for 50 years or more. Consider what this means: A lame duck administration is committing the United States to decades of occupation that will cost trillions of dollars and result in the deaths of countless American troops and Iraqi civilians. This is simply, simply, intolerable. We were also told last week that the next Petraeus report will come in this coming March and we must wait for that report before we act. But we can't sit around and we can't wait. We can't wait for another Petraeus report; we can't sit around and wait for another Crocker report, because we are fiddling while Iraq burns. We have already had a 4-year sugar-coated spin and TV show from the Oval Office. Mr. Speaker, enough is enough. The occupation is damaging America morally, politically and economically, and it must end. The Congress has the constitutional power and the Congress has the responsibility to end it. It is time to take bold action. It is time to use our power, our power of the purse, to bring our brave troops home.…”