Joe Pitts: “as a Vietnam veteran who served three tours during Vietnam and flew 116 combat missions over there in B-52s, I rise to…”

“as a Vietnam veteran who served three tours during Vietnam and flew 116 combat missions over there in B-52s, I rise to oppose this resolution. I am sure I don't speak for every Vietnam veteran, but I am sure I speak for a lot of them when I say that when we served in combat we detested the politicians in Washington who undermined our efforts to win, politicians who criticized the war effort, politicians who sought to micro-manage the war, politicians who set the rules of engagement from thousands of miles away. These politicians were anything but helpful. They undermined our efforts and our morale. They made us fight with one hand tied behind our backs. They demoralized our forces and our allies and our families. And, their words and political efforts grated on our families back home. Mr. Speaker, it was wrong then and it is wrong now. Our troops need and deserve our full support. I don't question the proponents of this resolution's patriotism. I question their judgment. What we are debating this week is called a nonbinding resolution. What that really means is that this is nothing more than a political statement. It is designed to send a message to the voters and to the media to score political points, I guess. But this resolution is not about President Bush or failures of his administration, this is about America, it is about our future, it is about our kids and our grandkids.”