Howard Dean's Radio Address on Iraq

Via Democrats.org Dean: We Will Do What the American People Have Asked Us To Do and Bring Our Troops Home" :

As Americans, we are united in our support for our troops. And because we support our troops, Democrats have put forward a plan for success in Iraq. A plan to get us out of Iraq.

We have made it clear that we will work with the President to find a solution. In response, the President continues to say "my way or the highway," and Vice President Cheney uses divisive rhetoric to question the patriotism of members of Congress who disagree with him. That's not what the country needs right now.

It is time for the President and Republicans in Congress to stop try to bully their way through this and work with Democrats to end the war. It's time for the President to show respect to the American people, who voted overwhelmingly to leave Iraq.

President Bush and his Republican allies did not have a clear plan when they misled our nation into this war and they do not have a clear plan to get our troops out. The Republicans sent our brave men and women in uniform to Iraq without proper body armor, equipment or training.

Our military is now stretched to a breaking point. Just this week, the Army announced they will send large division units back to Iraq without giving them at least a year's rest at home, as the Pentagon's standards require. Because our forces have been so badly depleted, the Pentagon just yesterday announced they are deploying an additional 12,000 National Guard reserves to Iraq.

The disgraceful conditions at Walter Reed and veterans' hospitals across the country are an appalling example of the way that President Bush and Republicans in Congress have failed our men and women in uniform. Upon returning home from Iraq, too many of our troops face a system that has been starved of resources for six years, and cannot adequately provide the care and services our troops deserve.

That is wrong.

Click here for the rest, including a link to the audio of Howard Dean's address.

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