Valleys' five reps all support resolution against troop surge
The resolution is expected to be approved today.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
All five members of the U.S. House who represent the Mahoning and Shenango valleys say they will vote today in favor of a resolution opposing President Bush's proposal to escalate the number of American troops in Iraq.
The members, three Democrats and two Republicans, delivered speeches Wednesday and Thursday in favor of the nonbinding resolution that also expresses support for U.S. troops.
"The American people have expressed their clear frustration with the conduct of the war," U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire of McCandless, Pa., D-4th, said Thursday on the House floor. "... But the president continues to ignore public opinion, reject sound advice, and stubbornly adhere to his failed go-it-alone policies."
Altmire represents Lawrence County and a portion of Mercer County.
The resolution, crafted by Democrats, is expected to pass today because that political party controls the House. President Bush wants to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq.
Cites high cost
U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson of St. Clairsville, D-6th, said on the House floor Wednesday that the cost of being in Iraq is too great in terms of military fatalities and money.
"The American people have spoken out for change, and many of us here have listened carefully," said Wilson, whose district includes Columbiana County and a portion of Mahoning County. "But escalating this war does not reflect the hard reality at home or on the ground in Iraq."
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, said Thursday that the president's plan would be yet another "in a series of failed escalations that have resulted in increased violence and attacks on American soldiers."
Ryan doesn't support sending any more troops to Iraq, and says Iraqis want Americans to get out of their country. Ryan's district includes most of Trumbull County and a portion of Mahoning County.
Republicans too
It's not just Democrats who will vote in favor of the resolution.
U.S. Reps. Phil English of Erie, Pa., R-3rd, and Steven C. LaTourette of Concord, R-14th, also plan to vote for the resolution.
House Republican leaders acknowledge there will be between 20 and 40 Republicans who will vote in favor of the Democratic resolution.
In remarks Wednesday on the House floor, English, whose district includes a portion of Mercer County, said it's "become self-evident that multiple, extended deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan have strained the military."
He also said Iraq should bear primary responsibility for its security and "it is clear that Iraqi public sentiment opposes the continued U.S. troop presence."
English said he'd vote in favor of the resolution, but is frustrated that Democratic leadership won't allow a "full and fair debate" on the issue first.
LaTourette, who represents seven townships in northern Trumbull County, opposes the increase -- saying Wednesday in the House that "this surge is not in the best interests of this nation."
LaTourette added that a surge of about 12,000 troops last year resulted in an "escalation of sectarian violence and attacks on our troops that has been unprecedented and unrelenting."
Wilson added that saying we support our troops is easy. But "without a realistic plan to guide them, we cannot say that we are supporting our troops," he said.
skolnick@vindy.com