WASHINGTON, DC-U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) released the following statement today after he and a bipartisan majority were blocked in their attempt to move forward with the Levin-Reed amendment to transition the mission in Iraq:
“The question we face is very basic: Do you stand for a new direction in Iraq or do you support the President’s policy of stay the course?
“Every time the President asks for more time on his policy in Iraq there's only one group of Americans who pay the price: the troops and their families. They pay with their sacrifice.
“When justifying the so-called surge in January, President Bush said: ‘If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people. Now is the time to act.’ Last week the Administration’s own analysis said that the Iraqis were not doing their job. It is time for the President to level with the American people, admit his policy in Iraq is not working, and change course.
“Our troops have done their job in Iraq. It is about time this Congress and the President do our jobs. And one of the jobs we should never ask our troops to do is what they are doing now and that is to referee a civil war.”
