U.S. Senator Susan Collins today released this statement following the release of an interim assessment report on the situation in Iraq. This first report on benchmarks is a direct result of legislation which she coauthored with Senators John Warner (R-VA) and Ben Nelson (D-NE) that was included in the defense supplemental spending law.
“This report verifies that the Iraqis have not made enough progress in reaching the benchmarks that are required under the law that Senators Warner, Nelson, and I authored.
“I oppose the President’s strategy and believe it is time for a new direction. We must redefine our mission and implement a gradual but significant withdrawal of our troops. Our troops have done their job in Iraq and now it is time for the Iraqis to step up to the plate and take responsibility for the future of their country.
“In addition to implementing the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, I am working on bipartisan legislation in the Senate that would reject the President’s strategy and change the U.S. mission in Iraq. I have coauthored legislation with Senator Ben Nelson that would immediately transition the mission of our troops in Iraq to a more narrowly defined mission of maintaining the integrity of Iraq’s borders, continuing the training of Iraqi forces, conducting counterterrorism operations, and protecting U.S. personnel and assets in Iraq. This legislation sets the goal of completing redeployment by March 2008.”
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