BEFORE HEADING HOME FOR THANKSGIVING, COLEMAN VOTES FOR MORE OF THE SAME IN IRAQ…AGAIN

11/19/2007

For the seventh time this year, Coleman votes against withdrawing troops from Iraq


For the seventh time this year, Minnesota Senator Norm today voted against changing direction in Iraq, choosing instead to give George Bush a blank check to continue his failed policy. In one of his final votes before Thanksgiving recess, Coleman voted against a $50 billion war funding package that would require troop withdrawals from Iraq beginning within 30 days, with a goal of a virtually complete withdrawal by December 15, 2008. Instead, Coleman once again voted for a blank check bill, sending billions to Iraq with no strings attached.

“For the seventh time this year alone, Norm Coleman endorsed the failed strategy in Iraq by voting against any significant change,” DSCC spokesman Matthew Miller said. “Coleman had a chance to show true leadership today, but chose instead to hand the president another blank check with no questions asked. Norm Coleman has had ample opportunity to embrace a new direction for Iraq, but time and again he embraces the failed status quo.”

Coleman Once Again Votes to Keep U.S. Troops Policing Iraqi Religious Civil War. Ignoring that the war in Iraq is damaging American efforts to fight al Qaeda, the military’s readiness to confront other global threats, and U.S. leverage in other hotspots like Pakistan, Coleman again voted against redeploying U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of 2008. [New York Times, 10/22/07; New York Times, 9/24/06, National Intelligence Estimate, July 2007]

Coleman’s “Strategy” is a Dead-End and Strengthens Terrorists. The open-ended commitment of U.S. troops to the Iraqi civil war that Coleman favors holds no prospects for success because Iraq’s solutions need to be solved politically, not militarily. U.S. commanders have concluded that the Iraqi government’s refusal to seek reconciliation is a bigger threat than local terrorists, Sunni insurgents, or Shiite militias. Meanwhile, the war has strengthened terrorists, according to U.S. intelligence agencies. [Washington Post, 11/15/07; New York Times, 9/24/06; National Intelligence Estimate, July 2007]

Coleman Has Now Voted Against Withdrawing U.S. Troops From Iraq SEVEN Times This Year. Today, Coleman voted against a $50 billion war funding package that would require troop withdrawals from Iraq beginning within 30 days, with a goal of withdrawal by December 15, 2008. This marks the seventh time this year that Coleman has voted against withdrawing most U.S. troops from Iraq. [New York Times, 11/15/07; Vote 411, 11/16/07; Vote 346, 9/21/07; Vote 252, 7/18/07; Vote 147, 4/26/07; Vote 126, 3/29/07,Vote 116, 3/27/07; Vote 75, 3/15/07]

Coleman Voted for Blank Check for the War. This morning, Coleman voted to provide $70 billion for the war in Iraq “with no strings attached” and no accountability. [Vote 410, 11/16/07; CQ Today, 11/15/07]

Price Tag for War is already $16,500 per Family and Climbing. While many military families have paid prices far exceeding monetary costs for the war in Iraq, the average American family has already paid $16,500 in taxes, higher gas prices, and other economic costs. Through 2017, the war in Iraq is projected to cost $2.8 trillion, or nearly $36,900 for the average American family. [Los Angeles Times, 11/14/07; Joint Economic Committee, 11/13/07]

CNN/Opinion Research: More Than 2/3 Oppose the War in Iraq, a Record High. According to the latest CNN/Opinion Research poll, 68% of Americans now oppose the war in Iraq, up from 65% last month. This is the highest opposition to the war recorded in a CNN survey. [CNN/Opinion Research, 11/8/07]