U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush Comments On President Bush's Plan For Iraq

Washington, D.C. ---- Last night, President Bush asked for a surge in troop level, but what we need is a surge in truth level. The Bush Administration lied about weapons of mass destruction, lied about Iraqs ties to terrorism and 9-11, and lied about the mission being accomplished and that we were winning the war. We must ask the question, Why are we in Iraq in the first place?

We dont want to further put our troops in harms way with so many unanswered questions.  The enthusiasm of the American people is not with the Presidents thinking and rightly so.

People dont understand why President Bush IS talking about reconstruction in Iraq, but hes NOT talking about reconstruction in my district. Hes not talking about reconstruction when it comes to any of the poor inner cities and rural areas of America. Charity starts at home, and the poor and disenfranchised of America need economic development, schools and jobs.

Look at what happened yesterday. For 10 years, the Republicans ignored minimum wage and then fought against our Minimum Wage Bill that passed the House yesterday. Then last night, Bush makes a case about sending more money to Iraq when money has already been loosely spent. How does he respond to reports that our troops currently there havent been adequately trained or equipped?

Before Congress signs off on more money in Iraq, we need to know how the $9.5 billions dollars of money that already went to Iraq has been used.

We need to know if our armed forces ready. We need to know how we will handle an emergency in another part of the world if called upon if we have more troops in Iraq. I have been a part of the congressional Get Out of Iraq Caucus because I believe we should get our troops out of Iraq and let the Iraqis deal with their own problems of governance.