Statement by Senator Edward M. Kennedy in Support of Bipartisan Iraq Resolution
Mr. President, I support the bipartisan compromise legislation on Iraq, and I urge my colleagues to support it as well.
It's a stunning repudiation of the President's misguided strategy in Iraq, and it will put the Senate squarely on record in opposition to the surge. It's a clarion call for change, and a vote of no confidence in the President's failed policy.
It was wrong for the President to take the country to war when we did, the way we did, and for the false reasons we were given. It's wrong to compound that mistake now by sending tens of thousands of additional American troops into the middle of the civil war now taking place.
The American people oppose this escalation. Many generals oppose it, and a bipartisan majority of the Congress opposes it as well. I especially commend our colleague Senator Warner for his extraordinary service to the nation in making this compromise possible.
Could our message to the White House be any louder or clearer?
I intend, however, to press for binding action that will prevent the surge unless the President changes course. If he doesn't, I will seek a vote at the first appropriate opportunity. It's wrong for the President to escalate this war and send more American soldiers into the cauldron of civil war.
