Jack Reed: “we must change the mission of our military forces in Iraq. We have to concentrate on training Iraqi forces so they can…”

“we must change the mission of our military forces in Iraq. We have to concentrate on training Iraqi forces so they can assume the burden of this hostility. We have to continue our efforts in counterterrorism to strike those international terrorists wherever they may be. And we have to protect our forces at all times. But we cannot continue an open-ended commitment and involvement in a civil war. That is essentially what the President is urging us to do. This appropriations bill provides more resources for our military than was requested. It also funds extremely important domestic concerns, including the Veterans' Administration, so we can keep faith with those veterans who have served and will continue to serve; and also, as my colleague from Louisiana pointed out, we have to begin to reconstruct our gulf coast. It is ironic that we are pouring billions into Baghdad, helping them build all sorts of utilities, and still Americans languish along the gulf coast. It also includes the Murtha standards of readiness on our forces as they deploy, to ensure that no American unit goes into the war zone without proper equipment, proper training, and appropriate personnel. The President has the ability to waive this under certain circumstances, so we are not unduly constricting his ability as Commander in Chief. Then, of course, this legislation has benchmarks so that the Iraqi Government can stand up to their task.”