WASHINGTON, DC -- Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), released the following statement in reaction to reports that the White House envisions a future role for the United States in Iraq like our presence in South Korea:

Rep. Markey said, “Just when you thought that the Bush Administration’s strategic thinking couldn’t get any worse, they start comparing US troop presence in Iraq to that of South Korea, and propose that tens of thousands of troops should remain in Iraq for decades. Our presence in South Korea is fundamentally dissimilar to the president 's war in Iraq. We’ve had troops in South Korea since the early 1950s in order to deter, and if necessary defeat, an attack by Communist North Korea on our ally. But in Iraq, our troops are caught in the middle of a civil war that continues to worsen every day.

“Instead of looking for arguments to justify a permanent presence in Iraq, the president should start thinking about how he is going to get us out of this quagmire. Does he really want to still be having this debate in 2060?”