Media

"With the war in Iraq now in its fifth year, the need for a strategy to bring the involvement of United States combat troops in the fighting to an end is all the more urgent. The plan approved last week by the House Appropriations Committee, which conditions U.S. support on the accomplishment of performance benchmarks by the Iraqi government and establishes a process for shifting the focus of the U.S. military mission from combat to training and redeploying our troops, in my judgment offers a better chance for success than the open-ended commitment favored by President Bush."

"'Despite President Bush's request that our assistance to Iraq continue to be given with 'no strings attached,' the United States cannot afford an open-ended commitment to a war without end. A means must be devised to end the U.S. combat role in Iraq and reduce our troop levels, so that we can begin to rebuild our military and reclaim our position of leadership in the world."