Patrick Leahy: “I thank the Chair. I will use part of it. I am voting for the supplemental, but I have grave misgivings about the…”

“I thank the Chair. I will use part of it. I am voting for the supplemental, but I have grave misgivings about the President's policy in Iraq, the enormous strain it is putting on our Armed Forces, the horrific toll of the insurgency on innocent Iraqis, but especially the lack of a credible exit strategy. We tried to get legislative language considered that would link the training and equipping of Iraqi security forces to the phased withdrawal of our troops. That made sense. As we train them and they are able to take over responsibility for security, we should withdraw our troops. The White House would not even consider this. I suspect had the White House asked our troops in the field or the American people, they would say that is what they want. It is also what most Iraqis want. I am voting for the supplemental because I am concerned about our troops, many who were sent to fight and some of whom have died--as we understand from the press, even though we could not get this from the administration--without the proper armor. I opposed their deployment to Iraq, and I want to see them return home as quickly as possible, but in the meantime, I want them to have the best protection and equipment. They were sent into harm's way by the order of the Commander in Chief, and they should be protected as well as they can be. There are other reasons I am voting for the supplemental, but I want to mention one in particular.…”