Pelosi Statement on U.S. Troops Levels in Iraq

February 25, 2008

Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the Pentagon acknowledging that it will maintain a force of 140,000 troops in Iraq through July 2008--8,000 more than the pre-surge troop level in January of last year:

'The statement from the Pentagon today on troop levels in Iraq is an admission that the President's troop surge was not a temporary measure. There will be more U.S. troops in Iraq this summer than there were at the end of 2006, when the American people demanded a New Direction in Iraq.

'Both the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, and the Army Chief of Staff, General George Casey have stated that repeated Iraq deployments are severely straining military readiness, making our nation less capable of dealing with other serious threats.

'As we approach the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war, Americans continue to demand a New Direction in Iraq and reject a continuation of the President's plan for a 10-year, trillion dollar war in Iraq.'