Christopher Shays: “I do not believe, however, support of what is truly a ``stay the course,'' ``status quo resolution'' will be a…”

“I do not believe, however, support of what is truly a ``stay the course,'' ``status quo resolution'' will be a constructive outcome of the debate. It sends the wrong message to our troops, to the Iraqis, to our allies throughout the world, and, in particular, to our enemies. Is it the American way to attack another country, disassemble its entire security forces--military, border patrol and police--and then leave before this broken country is capable to rebuild its security forces and stand on its own? The shame of this possibility haunts me. And how can this resolution possibly help our troops on the battlefield who are there already who still have to carry out their mission? We, the Congress, are in effect telling our troops, we support you, but we do not want you to have the reinforcements you need to carry out your mission, and we do not trust the judgment of your new commanding officer, General David Petraeus. How destructive is that? Our troops deserve to know we have a plan to win.”