Dean: We Need to Change Course in Iraq Now, Not September

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement in support of the Senate’s efforts to change course in Iraq and responsibly redeploy our troops:

“Democrats believe we need to change course in Iraq now, not in September, and are holding Congressional Republicans accountable for obstructing the will of the American people and military experts,” Dean said. “President Bush and Republican leaders stubbornly continue to ignore the facts on the ground. Today, a new National Intelligence Estimate provides additional evidence that Republicans have failed to make our homeland safe, allowing Al Qaeda to rebuild. While Republicans continue to back the war in Iraq, keeping us from fighting the terrorists where they are, on the Afghan-Pakistan border, Democrats have stood united in their fight to change course in Iraq. We hope that Republicans will have the backbone to vote with Democrats to end this war. But if they don’t, electing a Democratic president in 2008 is the only way to ensure that our troops return home soon."