This was emaild to me on 4/16/07 from Congressman Crowley. I wrote back telling him that after all the lies this administration gave us, how do we really know Osama Bin Laden and the Al-Qeada were really behind the attacks. I then asked him how did building 7 come down and also mentioned the size of the hole in the Pentagon. 

I also told him that we don't want any more wars.

From Congressman Crowley:

Thank you for contacting me with your concerns regarding the Iraq War and the recent House vote on war funding.  I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue and am pleased to have the opportunity to explain my vote to you.

        After over 4 years of the war in Iraq, it is clear that we need to adjust our strategy.  As you may know, I originally supported the Iraq War Authorization, believing the comments - both public and private - of President Bush and his Cabinet that Saddam Hussein and his regime in Iraq posed a serious and credible threat to the security of the United States. When the National Security Advisor and Director of the CIA personally tell you about such a credible threat, it is hard to ignore the facts presented to you. Unfortunately, in the time since that vote and the beginning of the war, new evidence has come to light that the Bush Administration kept key information from Congress and the American people showing that Iraq was not a threat to our country, and that Saddam Hussein had no role in the events of September 11, 2001.  Additionally, in the time since our military toppled the government of Saddam Hussein, this Administration has not provided the necessary force strength to properly stabilize Iraq and ignored previously drafted plans for a post-Saddam strategy in Iraq. We are now seeing the awful results -- a civil war with our American troops in the middle, and a White House that continues to refuse the necessary equipment and care for our wounded troops and returning veterans.

        In light of this, I oppose the President's plans for a troop escalation to supposedly bring security to Baghdad. We cannot allow this President to put more of our brave men and women of the armed forces in harm's way, with no successful strategy to bring them home safely. Escalating the war will only endanger more of our forces in Iraq, further this failed effort, and increase the level of our troops in the middle of an Iraqi civil war. Instead, we need to set a realistic timetable for bringing our troops home from Iraq in victory, as well as a redeployment of our troops to Afghanistan to re-start the hunt for Osama bin Laden and the other architects behind al-Qaeda and the September 11th attacks.

        On March 23, 2007, the House of Representatives voted on and passed H.R. 1591, the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act of 2007, by a vote of 218-212. I voted for this legislation, which provides needed funds for our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, for our troops still in harm's way, and for our veterans who are in desperate need of health care upon returning home.  This bill has been mischaracterized by the White House as surrender to the terrorists who blew up the World Trade Center and murdered 3,000 Americans.  In fact, it is just the opposite - it will actually allow our troops the support they need to fight al-Qaeda and the Taliban, as well as hunt down and catch Osama bin Laden and finally destroy his terrorist network.

        This bill accomplishes 6 goals:

        First, it provides our troops the training and equipment they need before going into battle - which is already required by the Pentagon.  This legislation requires troop deployments to adhere to Defense Department standards for training, equipment and armor - with the President required to certify in writing to Congress if he believes that national security requires these standards to be waived.  No longer will we send our troops into battle without the equipment and training they need. We all remember hearing one soldier complain to then-Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld about soldiers having to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to uparmor their vehicles.  Former Secretary Rumsfeld disregarded the question, and the underlying issue, and responded by telling that brave young soldier, "You have to go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want." This is not my opinion, and our country should have prepared and equipped our troops better, as well as demanded real sacrifices from all Americans for the men and women serving our country in harm's way.  This administration did not do that -- and still has not done that.

        Second, this legislation refocuses our nation's fight on al Qaeda, the Global War on Terrorism, and Afghanistan. The bill focuses attention on our efforts to fight terrorism by Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.  By calling for a responsible, phased redeployment of our troops out of Iraq, the bill allows us to increase our military efforts in Afghanistan, where al Qaeda and the Taliban are strengthening. In that vein, this legislation increases funding to fight al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan by $1.2 billion over President Bush's original request.  Let us not forget, it was al Qaeda that killed 3,000 Americans on September 11th, and we still have not found Osama bin Laden, the man responsible for this horrific attack on our soil.   Rather, the Bush Administration virtually abandoned the search to capture bin Laden, instead focusing on Iraq, which, as even President Bush has since acknowledged, had no role in the events of September 11th.

        Third, this bill ensures that the Iraqis are stepping up to take control of their own destiny by making progress on the President's own benchmarks.  This bill uses the readiness standards and benchmarks for the Iraqi government developed by the Bush Administration.  These are commonly-supported standards to gauge the Iraqis' willingness to take control of their government. 

        Fourth, H.R. 1591 provides for our injured troops and veterans here in the USA.  This bill provides $3.4 Billion MORE than President Bush requested for health care for our enlisted troops, as well as our nation's veterans.  The bill also mandates the cleaning up of Walter Reed Medical Center and does not allow the Bush Administration's unilateral decision to close this military hospital down during a time of war.  For the past several years, I worked alongside veterans groups in Queens and the Bronx to prevent the proposed shutdown of the Manhattan VA hospital at 23rd Street.  While we won this fight, it was a fight no veteran should have had to engage in -- particularly in a time of war, when our city has given so many of our young to this war.  Additionally, we are seeing longer lines for care and greater wait times to meet doctors at VA facilities, because of the Bush Administration and the former Republican Congressional majorities that continually cut funding to the Veterans Administration.  Congressional Democrats are restoring some of those badly needed funds in this bill.  Additionally, in this new fighting era, where brain injury is one of the leading causes of troop injury, we are investing funding into new brain research, care and technology to combat brain injury, and in particular, traumatic brain injury (TBI), which we are seeing in more and more of our wounded frontline soldiers.

        Fifth, this bill establishes a timeline for the end of the War in Iraq and for our troops to redeploy from Iraq.  With respect to getting our troops home, H.R. 1591 mandates that if the President fails to report to Congress on July 1, 2007 that real progress is underway on key benchmarks for the Iraqi government - again, benchmarks established by the Bush Administration - redeployment of U.S. troops begins immediately and must be completed within 180 days.  If the President fails to certify that Iraq has met the benchmarks on October 1, 2007, a redeployment of U.S. troops begins immediately and must be completed within 180 days.  In any case, at the latest, a redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq must begin by March 1, 2008, and must be completed by August 31, 2008.  This bill is the first step towards ending the war in Iraq and redeploying our troops out of a poorly-planned war effort that has allowed a civil war to rear its head.

        Sixth, this legislation also sends a loud message to the global community that they, regardless of their original position on the war in Iraq, must become more engaged in the stabilization of Iraq, as it will no longer be the primary responsibility of the United States.  Countries like France and Germany will need to work with the U.S. and the entire global community to address this situation.  So far, the U.S. has borne the primary burdens of this war in terms of lives lost, wounds incurred, and dollars spent.  Even the British, who were our strongest partners in the original coalition, have announced their plans to redeploy just as President Bush announced his plans for a troop escalation. The time has come for a greater and more shared sacrifice from our allies in the international community.  Iraq is now a global problem, and this legislation sends that message clearly to the world.

        As America begins its fifth year of war in Iraq, the price we have paid is high - with more than 3,000 U.S. troops dead, more than 20,000 U.S. troops wounded, and more than $400 billion of taxpayer money appropriated.  The National Intelligence Estimate tells us the war has increased the global terror threat, creating an entire new class of al Qaeda terrorists globally, and allowed a resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan.  These are the true threats to our nation's security -- threats that have been exacerbated by the War in Iraq.

        We are long overdue to develop a plan for success in Iraq. The policy actions undertaken in H.R. 1591, and in the similar Senate bill, are based on sound policy backed up by the Bush White House, the Pentagon and the bipartisan Iraq Study Group.  The Iraq Study Group released their report in December 2006 on the current U.S. strategy in Iraq, stating that the United States faces a "grave and deteriorating" situation after almost (at that time) four years of war in Iraq and recommended stronger diplomacy to promote stability in the country and subsequently allow troop withdrawal in early 2008.

        This report should have been a wake-up call for this Administration, but the President continues to distance himself from the findings. I believe to achieve some type of stability in Iraq, we need a radical change in direction and policy, not old ideas re-branded as new. The Administration must put aside partisan politics and work with the new Democratic Majority in the House and Senate to review all policy options, including the Iraq Study Group's 79 recommendations on Iraq policy, as well as this bill that funds the troops, the veterans, and the medical needs of our military instead of playing politics. We need to ensure that this Administration meets with our allies, works with Congress, and talks with Iraq's neighbors to bring security and stability to the Iraqi people and to expedite the return of our men and women in uniform.  H.R. 1591 begins this important process.

        President Bush has stated he will veto this bill when it reaches his desk, saying it handcuffs our troops.  He is wrong to do so.  This bill mandates new funding for the health care needs of our wounded troops and America's veterans; it creates a timetable for deployment based on benchmarks created by the Bush Administration, as well as refocuses our nation's military on catching Osama bin Laden and the others behind September 11th; and it begins the end of the war in Iraq and allows an Iraqi state to be policed and governed by the Iraqi people.

        Thank you again for your interest in this issue, and please do not hesitate to contact me in the future on this or any other issue.

I cannot guarantee the integrity of the text of this letter if it was not sent to you directly from my Congressional Email Account: write2joecrowley@mail.house.gov.  If you have any questions about the validity of this message, please email me at: write2joecrowley@mail.house.gov or call my Washington, DC office at: 202-225-3965.  If you would like to be removed from my email update list, please email me your name and address to: write2joecrowley@mail.house.gov and type "REMOVE" in the subject line.