Pelosi: Bush's war has 'taken us deeply into debt, and that debt is taking us into recession' David Edwards and Muriel Kane

Published: Thursday April 10, 2008



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Print This Email This In the Democratic Party response to President Bush's speech on Iraq Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) emphasized the staggering costs of the war, its growing strain on the US military, and its failure to make Americans any safer. "The president has taken us into a failed war," Pelosi stated. "He's taken us deeply into debt, and that debt is taking us into recession. We need some answers." Bush's speech followed Congressional testimony earlier in the week by Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. Bush painted a rosy picture of conditions in Iraq, saying that "fifteen months ago, America and the Iraqi government were on the defensive. Today, we have the initiative." Reid, however, dismissed Bush's talk of progress resulting from the surge. He noted instead that "two very important questions" were raised at the hearings -- "Has the was made us any safer? Are our troops any closer to coming home?" -- and that "on both counts, after the hearings, the answer is no." "Our military is badly strained," Reid insisted. "We're unable to respond to threats around the world. ... American taxpayers are paying $5000 a second for this war." Reid also focused on Bush's promise that "I have directed the secretary of defense to reduce deployment lengths from 15 months to 12 months for all active Army soldiers deploying to the Central Command area of operations" after next August 1. "Today's announcement by the president can only be described as one step forward and two back," Reid commented. "If our president is genuine about providing our troops with the rest, recuperation, and training they need, then I call upon him and his allies in Congress to allow us to codify this, make it the law of this country. ... If you're in Iraq or Afghanistan for 12 months, then you have to be home at least 12 months." "The president still doesn't understand that America's limited resources cannot support this endless war that he's gotten us involved in," Reid continued, noting that even though Gen. Petraeus has recommended a withdrawal of all five surge brigades by the end of July, this will still leave more US troops in Iraq than before the surge. "The president signaled to the American people that he has no intention of bringing home any more troops," Reid stated. "Instead, he's leaving all the tough decisions to ... the next president of the United States." Nancy Pelosi reaffirmed all of Reid's points. "We need better answers from the president," she concluded. "We need real answers." This video is from MSNBC's News Live, broadcast April 10, 2008.

