Sen. Reid vs. Bush & Fossella

via Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid;

The President apparently remains in a dangerous state of denial about the situation on the ground in Iraq and its impact on our security at home. Although the President rightly stated that the American people voted against failure in Iraq last November, they also clearly voted against a policy that is leading us to failure - and that's what the President's stay the course strategy does.

While ten more of our brave men and women died yesterday in one of the deadliest days of this war, President Bush continues to offer more of the same: a failed policy that has our troops mired in an open-ended civil war that risks our security at home. The Iraq policy set forth in the Supplemental bill has been supported by the American people, senior military leaders and a bipartisan majority in Congress. It changes the course by fully funding our troops and providing a responsible end to this war. It holds the Iraqis accountable for securing their nation and forging political reconciliation. It ensures our troops are combat-ready before being deployed to Iraq, and provides them with all the resources needed on the battlefield and when they return.

Most importantly, it recognizes that each day we stay the course in Iraq further weakens our fight against terrorism and other threats throughout the world. The President repeatedly used the phrase "precipitous withdrawal" in his remarks. There is nothing precipitous about insisting that the President change course after more than four years of his failed policy. We hope the President will join us in giving our troops the resources and strategy they need and deserve.

Democrats on troop support, not escalation

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid;

Democrats are continuing to fight to give our troops the resources they need, including a strategy for success worthy of their sacrifices. The President's new plan to follow up his ill-advised escalation by sending ill-prepared National Guard troops to Iraq is another misguided strategy neither our troops nor the American people can afford. Nearly 90 percent of the Army National Guard has less than half the equipment they need to respond to a national crisis, and the war in Iraq is endangering our National Guard at home.

President Bush has done more than anyone to damage troop readiness, which are at levels not seen since the Vietnam War. While the Administration continually shifts its stance on when the escalation will end and when we will see results, our military is stretched too thin and our troops are returning to combat too soon and with too little training.