WASHINGTON, 18 November 2005 — A Democratic lawmaker yesterday introduced in the US Congress the first resolution demanding an immediate withdrawal of US troops in Iraq amid a war of words between the White House and the opposition over the conflict.
“Our military has done everything that has been asked of them, the US cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily,” said Democratic Representative John Murtha, a Vietnam War veteran who introduced the resolution.
“It’s time to bring them home,” Murtha said.
His resolution says the United States should “pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy.” “The deployment of US forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and the forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date,” the text says.
It also calls for the deployment of a “quick reaction US force” in the region.
The resolution in the House of Representatives comes as President George W. Bush and top administration officials have lambasted Democrats who claim he hyped the case for war with Iraq.
Murtha, who has a hawkish voting record and supported the Iraq war but criticized Bush’s handling of it, urged the administration to “immediately redeploy US troops consistent with the safety of US forces.”
Murtha called the war “a flawed policy wrapped in illusion” and noted a shift in public sentiment against the war.
“The American public is way ahead of the members of Congress,” he said. “It’s time for a change in direction. Our military is suffering. The future of our country is at risk,” he said.
Just a handful of Democrats who had opposed the war from the start have called for a quick withdrawal. Most have called on the administration to provide a plan for withdrawal, based on conditions on the ground.
The administration has vehemently opposed any mention of withdrawal timetables, which is calls a “cut and run” strategy that would only fuel the insurgency. It is trying to build up Iraq’s military so that US troops can eventually leave.
Insurgent Targets
But Murtha argued that US troops have become the targets who have united the insurgency, and that continued deployments are breaking the military.
He said he believed US troops could be withdrawn within six months. There are 153,000 US troops in Iraq, increased from the usual 138,000 to tighten security for elections in October and December. Another 22,000 troops from US allies are also serving in Iraq.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, asked about Murtha’s proposal, said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and top US military officials had “outlined, I think, adequately... What the strategy is for the US military there and the conditions that will need to be met in order to be able to start reducing the size of the military force there.”
“We cannot continue on the present course. It is evident that continued military action in Iraq is not in the best interest of the United States of America, the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf region,” Murtha said.
The Republican-controlled Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly backed a resolution saying the Iraqis should start taking the lead in their own security next year to allow a phased withdrawal, but it rejected a Democratic resolution demanding that Bush provide an estimated timetable.
