U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) voted today in favor of the resolution expressing support for our troops and opposition to the President's proposal to escalate the war in Iraq. The resolution passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 246 to 182. Larsen issued the following statement:

“The president's announcement to add 21,500 U.S. troops to Iraq is a step in the wrong direction. The president promised a new approach, but more troops does not equal a new way forward.

“Every state in the country, including Washington, has National Guard units that are depleted, that don’t have the equipment they need to train and are forced to leave equipment in theater, making it harder for them to do their jobs here at home.

“This war has sapped our ability to train here at home with functional equipment. It has sapped our ability to recruit for the future, and it has sapped our ability to prepare for 21st century threats.

“The president’s escalation plan will not solve these problems, it will make them worse. The president’s plan will not decrease our strategic risk, it will exacerbate it. 

“This escalation will hurt our military at home and it will hurt our military abroad, but most importantly it is another flawed strategy that hinges its success on a weak Iraqi government beset by sectarian civil war.”

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