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Last Updated on July 28, 2011.

In the wake of news reports that the Pentagon is pushing to leave thousands of US troops in Iraq indefinitely, Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) were joined by 91 of their colleagues in a bipartisan letter strongly urging the President to bring all of our troops home from Iraq by the end of this year.

The Status of Forces Agreement between the Bush Administration and the government of Iraq, requires that the United States remove all of its forces from Iraq by December 31, 2011. Now, less than 6 months before that deadline, the Pentagon is actively pushing the Iraqi government to “request” thousands of US troops remain in Iraq indefinitely. 

As Representatives Lee and Jones say:

“Leaving troops and military contractors in Iraq beyond the deadline is not in our nation’s security interests, it is not in our nation’s strategic interests, and it is not in our nation’s economic interests.”

For over 8 years we have been fighting to end the Iraq war. During that time nearly 4,500 Americans have lost their lives and tens of thousands more have been wounded in Iraq because of George W. Bush’s lies. We can be sure that keeping US troops in Iraq will mean one thing: American soldiers will continue to die and be wounded. Win Without War will continue to monitor the drawdown of US forces from Iraq and work with our allies in Congress to make sure that we finally end the Iraq War and bring all of our troops home.

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Huffington Post on Lee-Jones Letter: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/28/obama-iraq-withdrawal-deadline_n_911850.html?1311868464

The Lee-Jones letter to the President and a full list of co-signers is copied below.

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July 27, 2011

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing to urge you to hold to our nation’s Status of Forces Agreement with the government of Iraq that commits our nation to bringing all of our troops and military contractors home at the end of this calendar year.

The American people have made it clear that the war in Iraq must end. By wide and overwhelming margins, Americans approve of your plan to remove all the troops from Iraq by the end of this year.

We are deeply concerned to learn that your Administration is considering plans to keep potentially thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq beyond the end of this year. Extending our presence in Iraq is counterproductive – the Iraqi people do not support our continued occupation.

Remaining in Iraq would only further strengthen the perception that we are an occupying force with no intention of leaving Iraq.

Leaving troops and military contractors in Iraq beyond the deadline is not in our nation’s security interests, it is not in our nation’s strategic interests, and it is not in our nation’s economic interests.

Mr. President, we look forward to working with you in maintaining our nation’s Status of Forces Agreement with the government of Iraq and bringing all of our troops and military contractors home at the end of this year.

Sincerely,

Barbara Lee
Member of Congress

Walter B. Jones
Member of Congress

 

Full list of co-signers:

1. Baldwin
2. Bass (Calif.)
3. Boswell
4. Braley
5. Capps
6. Capuano
7. Chu
8. Cicilline
9. Clarke (Mich.)
10. Clarke (N.Y.)
11. Clay
12. Cleaver
13. Clyburn
14. Cohen
15. Conyers
16. Costello
17. Danny Davis
18. Defazio
19. DeLauro
20. Deutch
21. Doggett
22. Doyle
23. Duncan (Tenn.)
24. Edwards
25. Ellison
26. Farr
27. Filner
28. Frank
29. Fudge
30. Garamendi
31. Grijalva
32. Gutierrez
33. Hahn
34. Hanabusa
35. Hastings (Fla.)
36. Heinrich
37. Hirono
38. Holt
39. Honda
40. Jackson Jr.
41. Jackson Lee
42. Johnson (Ill.)
43. Johnson (Texas)
44. Jones
45. Kaptur
46. Kucinich
47. Larson
48. Lee
49. Lewis (Ga.)
50. Loebsack
51. Lofgren
52. Lujan
53. Maloney
54. Matsui
55. McCollum
56. McDermott
57. McGovern
58. Michaud
59. Miller (Calif.)
60. Moore
61. Nadler
62. Napolitano
63. Norton
64. Olver
65. Paul
66. Payne
67. Pingree
68. Polis
69. Rangel
70. Richardson
71. Rush
72. Sanchez (Calif.)
73. Sanchez (Calif.)
74. Schakowsky
75. Schrader
76. Scott (Va.)
77. Serrano
78. Sewell
79. Slaughter
80. Speier
81. Stark
82. Thompson (Calif.)
83. Thompson (Miss.)
84. Tonko
85. Towns
86. Tsongas
87. Velazquez
88. Waters
89. Watt
90. Welch
91. Wilson (Fla.)
92. Woolsey
93. Yarmuth

July 28, 2011