Schakowsky Says Petraeus Plan Takes U.S "Back to Square One"

Schakowsky says Petraeus Plan Takes U.S. "Back to Square One"

Washington, D.C.–U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), a Chief Deputy Whip and member of the House Intelligence Committee, released the following statement today in response to General David Petraeus' testimony. Congresswoman Schakowsky witnessed the hearings firsthand as General Petraeus tried to convince Congress and the American people that the surge is working.

"After listening to General David Petraeus' testimony, Rep. Jan Schakowsky described the General's vision for the future as "back to square one.

General Petraeus said that because of the military 'progress' in Iraq, troop size can be reduced to pre-surge levels -- by next summer. Is he kidding? Four and a half years into the war, it couldn't be clearer that the Commander in Iraq and the Commander in Chief have absolutely no plan for getting the U.S. out of the Iraqi quagmire.

I am absolutely astonished that General Petraeus and President Bush might expect the American people to be satisfied with heading back to square one. According to Monday's USA/Gallup Poll, a record number of Americans, 60%, want a date certain by which our troops are withdrawn from Iraq. They are saying 'enough is enough', while the Bush Administration and its spokespeople, Gen Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, are saying 'stay the course'. Their plan is to keep more than 130,000 troops in Iraq with no end in sight.

Not surprisingly, the General's cherry-picked statistics didn't win many hearts and minds. The Government Accountability Office, the National Intelligence Estimate, and the General Jones report on the failures of the Iraqi National Police all independently confirmed what I gleaned from my August trip to Iraq; the troop surge has been a failure.

Ambassador Crocker, referring to the lack of any perceivable political progress in Iraq, said unconvincingly that the U.S. could 'achieve its goal of a secure, stable, democratic Iraq, at peace with its neighbors' but acknowledged it would be 'not quick, not even, and will require substantial US resolve and commitment.

Just how many more lives is he willing to commit to this pipe dream? How many more billions of dollars? The Ambassador didn't say.

After four and a half years of 'success is just around the corner', time has run out. Our troops have performed valiantly but the mission is fundamentally and fatally flawed. We must bring our troops home quickly, carefully, and now."