Hank Johnson: “last week something very disturbing occurred. President Bush had an opportunity to demonstrate that he understood the…”

“last week something very disturbing occurred. President Bush had an opportunity to demonstrate that he understood the country's concern, he had a chance to finally articulate a clear plan for our country's engagement in Iraq. But, instead, the President chose to escalate our involvement in Iraq's civil war by proposing a substantial increase in the number of American troops there, about half of whom are based in Georgia. Mr. Speaker, our troops have performed with great courage. They have performed admirably in the Congress, and the American people will continue to support them and provide them with every resource that they need. But we need better leadership coming from the President and his War Cabinet. This new Democratic Congress is not going to give the President a blank check, and we will continue to demand answers to the tough questions that have not been answered. Rather than escalating our involvement in Iraq, I believe that any plan should focus on shifting responsibility to the Iraqis so that we can begin a phased redeployment. The American people want change, of course, in Iraq, and House Democrats intend to keep pressing the President to provide it.”