Dennis Kucinich: “Congress as a coequal branch of government must be prepared to act to bring our troops home from Iraq. Congress must…”

“Congress as a coequal branch of government must be prepared to act to bring our troops home from Iraq. Congress must have an exit plan and take steps to implement it. President Bush has every intention of keeping the troops in Iraq through the end of his term. However, the money is there to bring the troops home now. If Congress appropriates more money for Iraq, the war will escalate and more troops and innocent civilians will die. The American people voted for a new direction. That direction is out of Iraq. Let us rescue our troops. Let us rescue a domestic agenda. Let us reverse policies which have created chaos, massive civilian casualties and destruction in Iraq. Let us reunite the community of nations in the cause of stabilizing Iraq. The U.S. cannot do this as occupiers or as agents of contracting and oil interests. We can do this only once we have stated our intention to end the occupation. Next week I will be presenting to this Congress a workable plan which can enable our Nation to bring the troops home, assure an international peacekeeping force and begin to close this perilous chapter in our Nation's history.”