Greg Walden: “since learning we would consider a resolution regarding troop levels in Iraq, I have spent considerable time listening…”

“since learning we would consider a resolution regarding troop levels in Iraq, I have spent considerable time listening to veterans of this war and other wars questioning some of America's top national security officials, reading every e-mail, literally every letter on this most serious issue of this day that has come into my office from my constituents. I have listened to voices of leaders of other nations who surround Iraq. I have read the National Intelligence Report. I have read the Iraq Study Committee Report. I have been given books such as ``Fiasco'' to digest, and I have reached out to the parents of brave Americans who are on their way into this conflict, and I have heard from the parents of sons who were lost in this conflict. I have heard strong opinions on both sides of this issue, and I have reflected upon my own vote to authorize the war in the first place. To say the least, it has been an agonizing experience. Agonizing, because I want to do what is right for America with minimal sacrifice to the brave Americans who wear our Nation's uniform. I want to do what is right to protect our freedom and our security. I will always remember the days and nights when the smoke from the burning Pentagon wafted into the apartment I lived in just blocks from that building. I remember the images of that day when rescue personnel were trying to save lives, only to lose their own.”