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June 19, 2006
Artur Davis issues a statement. . .
Background for this post -- Wow, look at what these "Congresspeople" actually voted AGAINST!
Over the weekend, Congressman Artur Davis (D-AL-7th) released a statement regarding his vote on the Iraq War Resolution from last week:
FROM THE OFFICE OF
Congressman Artur Davis
7th Congressional District of Alabama
208 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-0107WASHINGTON - U.S. Representative Artur Davis offered the following statement concerning today's vote on the Iraq resolution.
"There are parts of the Iraq resolution that I fully support; I certainly salute the valor of our soldiers and the Iraqi people. I continue to believe it is unwise to announce to the enemy a date for withdrawal. I also recognize our genuine successes in Iraq, from the capture of Saddam Hussein to the killing of murderers like Al-Zarqawi.
But I could not support a resolution whose main purpose is to endorse the Bush Administration's policy of a continuing commitment to a large-scale troop presence in Iraq. That policy has cost us approximately 2,500 American lives, while still failing to stop the violent insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians. Our military should begin the process of transferring the overwhelming load of our responsibilities to the Iraqi security forces, and our new emphasis should be on training and modernizing those forces as best as possible.
As much as we desire a better future for the Iraqi people, we have sacrificed too many of our young people for the dubious purpose of securing another country's political stability. Whether Iraq can emerge as a functioning democracy is a test for the Iraqi people and for the tolerance of their competing religious faiths. It is the Iraqi people, and not our soldiers, who will determine Iraq's destiny. "
I appreciate Representative Davis issuing the statement, even if I completely disagree with his suppositions and conclusions. The text of the resolution is here, and for the record, the roll call is here. If you read the Resolution, you'll see that it's extremely straightforward and simple. Representative Davis has chosen to read more into the Resolution than there is, he's also chosen to side with a national political party over his constitutents. Representative Davis' district is overwhelmingly supportive of the Global War on Terror and also the localized battle of the Mission in Iraq.
In his statement, Davis dances around, but in effect, by his vote, he has dismissed the sacrifices of our soldiers, shown a disdain for freedom and democracy taking hold in Iraq and Representative Davis has also contradicted what he sees at the "purpose" of the resolution. I could comment more, but I'll leave that to you to decide for yourself, read the Resolution, then read Davis' statement, the two don't seem to connect.
Representative Davis, you have placed your partisanship above our soldiers and our mission, I suggest that you are in effect a declared enemy of our troops and their mission. You sir, should be ashamed, and more importantly, your constituents should be ashamed of you.
--Jason
P.S. I reserve the right to revisit Davis' statement later, for now I just don't have the time. I'll end for now by suggesting that we all should be grateful that Davis and his like weren't in Congress for the rebuilding of Germany, Japan and Korea. Perhaps Davis just doesn't feel the Iraqis don't deserve the same protections and nurturing of their democracy as the Germans, Japanese, Koreans and even Afghans, I wonder why?
Posted by JasonColeman at June 19, 2006 8:09 AM
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