Collin Peterson: “Mr. Speaker, by nearly all measures, the situation in Iraq is a mess. And yet what seems crystal clear to most…”

“Mr. Speaker, by nearly all measures, the situation in Iraq is a mess. And yet what seems crystal clear to most Minnesoteans the President says that we still have a realistic chance to achieve his vision for a free and democratic Iraq and that all is needed is a short-term addition of 21,000 American combat troops. Does nobody seriously think that this is true, that success is only 21,000 more soldiers away? Mr. Speaker, I am against the President's plan. I have given this President the benefit of the doubt on more than one occasion. But his plan to send in more troops does not pass the test of common sense. If a short-term surge was going to deliver victory and democracy in Iraq, we would have already done it. This idea would have made more sense at the beginning of this war. And more troops at the start were what many experts counseled. I was serving on the Select Intelligence Committee when the President, senior Pentagon officials, and senior intelligence officials told us that Iraq was a threat to our national security. At the time, we had a great deal of confusing and occasionally conflicting information. We questioned them about this, and their response was that the information that they had required us to act and that they had a plan for the aftermath. I gave them the benefit of the doubt then, and I believed them.”