Party Features

Statement of Senator Jim Webb Regarding the Dwell-Time Amendment

Posted by Mike on Thursday, September 20

Washington, DC - Senator Jim Webb issued the following statement on the Republican filibuster of the bipartisan Webb-Hagel amendment:

"I regret that my amendment to protect the well-being of our troops and their families, which received a clear majority of 56 votes in the Senate, did not reach the number of votes to break a Republican filibuster.

"In the past two weeks we have learned a great deal about the intentions of the Republican Party as it relates to the war in Iraq.

"From the testimony of Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus, we learned two things: first, that there have been few political or diplomatic gains due to the increased military activities of the so-called ‘surge,' and second that the intended troop levels in Iraq after the ‘surge' is completed will be the same troop levels that existed before the ‘surge' began - more than 131,000 American troops.

"From the President's speech, and from the statements of key Republicans such as the Senate Minority Leader, we have learned that the Republican Party is now openly advocating a permanent U.S. presence in Iraq that could continue for at least the next 50 years. I personally warned against this prospect five years ago in a Washington Post editorial, stating that those who were advocating this invasion had no exit strategy, because they did not intend for the United States to leave.

"From the vote on my modest amendment, which was designed with the sole intention of guaranteeing that our military men and women are able to spend at least as much time away from Iraq as they spend in Iraq, we have learned that the Administration and its congressional allies do not consider the present stress on our operating units to be of significant consequence.

"We have done our best to attempt to put a reasonable operational policy, a safety net for our service members, into place as these other complex political and diplomatic issues are being debated. The Republican filibuster prevented us from doing so. It is now up to the Administration and its congressional allies to demonstrate the kind of compassionate, visionary leadership that might be equal to the standards we constantly set for our military men and women."


View all Party Features posts.

Join In
Enter your email address to join up with the VA Dems Online.
Go Local
Headlines
Voter Information