Jay Inslee: “I have come tonight to discuss the challenge for America in the Iraq war. Some may know that a group of my colleagues…”

“I have come tonight to discuss the challenge for America in the Iraq war. Some may know that a group of my colleagues and myself have been discussing this challenge now for several months on the floor of the House, once a week. We style this the Iraq Watch. The reason we come to the floor, sometimes as late as midnight, is that this really is a challenge and it demands that Congress be involved and not sit on the sidelines of this issue. This issue is too important, it is too deadly, it is too contentious for Members of Congress to simply take a pass and have responsibility only rest in the executive branch, the President's branch of the United States Government. So we have come once a week to talk about how to pursue a meaningful, commonsense, successful policy in Iraq. Hopefully I will be joined by some colleagues a little later in the evening. I would like to start by just giving a background about why this is so important and why it is so important for Members of Congress to address the Iraq issue and not walk away from it.”