Pelosi: September Report on Iraq Must Provide Candid Assessment

August 16, 2007

Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today after news organizations reported that the Bush Administration will seek to limit involvement by General David H. Petraeus in the September progress report on the war in Iraq:

'For a long time the Administration has hidden behind the name of General David Petraeus, saying the September report will be his. We all knew this would be the President's report. It is now clear that the White House will seek to limit involvement by General Petraeus in reporting to the Congress and to the American people next month.

'We must remember that the purpose of the surge was to create a secure environment in which political change could occur. Whether or not some limited military success has occurred, it is clear that the Iraqi leaders have failed to make political progress.

'The question for September is: 'Why should our troops risk their lives in a civil war when the Iraqi government refuses to take the political steps necessary to end the sectarian violence?' We must have a candid assessment of the ongoing situation in Iraq and it is increasingly unclear whether the September report will provide that.'