Democrats forcing Bush's hand on Iraq

This week, the House of Representatives debated one of the most important pieces of legislation of our time -- a bill requiring President Bush to change his direction in Iraq and withdraw U.S. forces by the Fall of next year. As a member of the House Committee on Appropriations, I cast my vote in favor of this legislation last week when it passed our committee and I did so again when the bill was on the floor Friday.
I was speaking out against the war in Iraq before it even began. I believed then, as I do now, that we are fighting a war we did not need to fight, in a place we did not understand, and without the leadership, resources, or a proper plan to secure the peace. Friday, we changed the course of the war in Iraq when we passed the Iraq Supplemental.
This appropriations bill forces a change of course by giving our troops the equipment, armor and training they need to stay safe while starting the process for getting them out of Iraq as soon and safely as possible. It ensures that our supply lines aren't cut and our troops are able to protect themselves. It provides 2.8 billion in funds for Defense Health Care, which will make certain the nearly 24,000 wounded troops this war has created have the support they need. It also includes 1.7 billion to ensure that the Veterans Administration can meet the obligations of a new generation of fighting men and women coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
For the first time, we have a way to hold the Iraqi government accountable for the security of their own country. The supplemental requires that the Iraqi government meets key security, political and economic benchmarks established by President Bush himself in his Jan. 10 address to the nation. These requirements include making the Iraqis take responsibility for security in all of Iraq's provinces by this November, passing legislation to share oil revenue among all of the country's provinces, and spending 10 billion on infrastructure and reconstruction projects.
If the Iraqi government fails to meet these benchmarks, we will begin withdrawing our troops by October of this year. If the benchmarks are met, the start of withdrawal will be delayed until March 1, 2008, and completed by October 2008.
Turning the tide
For the sake of our country and for the sake of our troops in harm's way, I hope these benchmarks are met. It will mean the tide has turned in one of the greatest political and humanitarian disasters of our time. By achieving these requirements, the Iraqi government will take the necessary steps to pull away from the brink of a failed state and full civil war. It will create an environment where the Iraqis can begin to heal their nation and we can begin to get our troops out of harms way.
Members of the Appropriations Committee who voted for this bill last week and members who voted for it on the floor Friday provided an additional 2.5 billion to address the current readiness crisis of our stateside troops; 311 million more for mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles; 222 million for infrared countermeasures for our Air Force; and 1.2 billion more in funding for our operations in Afghanistan so we can again focus on tracking down those who were responsible for 9/11. Finally, and most critically, we voted in favor of a timetable for the ending this terrible war.
This resolution sends a clear message to the president that we are not going to continue his failed policies any longer. It says to the president that we are going to bring our troops home, and we are going to bring them home by the fall of 2008 at the latest. If the president does not show us that progress is being made, our troops will leave sooner. I believe that the American people have spoken out about this war, and I believe when we passed the supplemental on Friday Congress did too.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat, represents the 17th Congressional District.