Mike Levin: “I hope the Senate will be allowed to debate our policy in Iraq by proceeding to this legislation this afternoon. Iraq is…”

“I hope the Senate will be allowed to debate our policy in Iraq by proceeding to this legislation this afternoon. Iraq is the single most important policy issue facing our country. It was a major issue in the November elections last fall. The American people have strong opinions about what is happening in Iraq. They want their elected officials to debate this issue, and we should do it. The debate should go forward. A filibuster is out of place on war and peace issues, on something of this magnitude. The debate is not about whether we want the United States to act to maximize chances of success in Iraq. We all want to maximize chances of success in Iraq. We all want to see a stable Iraq which enhances our own national security. But the President's course of action, which he has been on for 3 rac{1}{2} years and which he has now proposed to continue on to deepen our involvement in Iraq, does not enhance our security. It does not maximize chances of success in Iraq. The debate is about the best way to maximize chances of success in Iraq. Is the new strategy of the President, which puts over 21,000 more American troops in the middle of an Iraqi civil war, the best way to bring that about? That is what this debate is about. There actually seems to be an agreement among most observers that an Iraqi political settlement is the key to ending the violence in Iraq.”