Mike Levin: “our current policy in Iraq has not been working; it is not working. It is making us less secure against the common enemy…”

“our current policy in Iraq has not been working; it is not working. It is making us less secure against the common enemy which the Senator from Texas has correctly identified. It is, indeed, a common enemy. The question is whether the current course we are on is contributing to the defeat of that enemy or whether the current course we are on is making us less secure, as our resolution states. It is long past time for a change in course. When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing you should do is stop digging. Unfortunately, President Bush and the administration just keep digging us into a deeper and deeper hole. The President has given the Iraqis the impression that our commitment in Iraq is open ended. He reinforced that impression when he said last month: We are not leaving so long as I am President. The Iraqi leadership needs a wakeup call, a dose of reality. They need to be told: If you don't get your political house in order, if you don't reach a political settlement that leads to the end of the Sunni insurgency and leads to the dismantling of the Shia militia, then we cannot save you from yourselves. It is in your hands, we must tell the Iraqis, not ours. Whether you want to put together a nation or whether you have a civil war is your choice. We have opened the door for you. We have given you an incredible opportunity which no other country would even consider giving but ours. We have paid for it in blood and treasure.…”