WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), released the following statement today as the House voted to responsibly withdrawal U.S. troops from Iraq:
“It is long past time that the disaster in Iraq is brought to an end. The president’s failed policy has been repudiated by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, criticized by military leaders and defense experts, and rejected by the voters. This travesty has gone on too long. We must change course.

“Within a few months, we will have spent more money in Iraq than we did in the more than 10 years we were in Vietnam. We have already been in Iraq longer than we were involved in World War II. Since President Bush infamously declared “Mission Accomplished” over four years ago, the situation has only gotten worse and worse.

“The president refuses to change course, but more of the same is no longer be an option. We must extricate ourselves from this sectarian civil war that is bleeding our military every single day. Today I am voting to begin the responsible redeployment of U.S. forces out of Iraq within 120 days, and complete that redeployment by April 1, 2008. Today, I am voting for a long overdue change. The president should listen.”