SAN FRANCISCO, CA - In remarks in San Francisco and Burbank, California State Treasurer and Democratic nominee for Governor Phil Angelides today pledged to fight to bring California's National Guard troops home from Iraq.
"I've been plain about my views on George W. Bush's war in Iraq," said Angelides. "It is wrong for our country, and wrong for the Californians who are fighting and dying there. It is compromising our national security, and winning us enemies when we need allies in the war against terror. It maims our conscience as a nation -- as well as our young men and women in uniform. And I say to you today: it is long past time to bring our troops home."
In his remarks, Angelides said he would:
On his first day in office, formally request President Bush return our National Guard units to California.
Mobilize governors from across this nation to force a change in national policy -- so Guard units can be used for their intended purpose––protecting our homeland, not propping up the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld excuse for a foreign policy.
Walk the halls of Congress to mobilize support for a new direction in Iraq - one that that brings our troops home, and turns our strength and resources to the real tasks of truly rooting out and defeating terror.
Take any action, including going to court, to return our guardsmen and women to California.
All told, 275 Californians have died in Iraq, including 21 members of the California National Guard. Despite the tremendous toll the war has taken on the California National Guard, Governor Schwarzenegger has stood steadfastly behind President George W. Bush and has previously said the war in Iraq is "the right thing to do."
Angelides complete remarks as prepared for delivery are included below.
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REMARKS AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY BY STATE TREASURER PHIL ANGELIDES ON THE WAR IN IRAQ AND THE CALIFORNIA NATIONAL GUARD
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
For three-and-a-half years now, America has been bogged down in a war in the sands of Iraq.
A new report by the United Nations tells us that there is more torture in Iraq than there was under Saddam Hussein.
According to news accounts, a new National Intelligence Estimate concludes that the war in Iraq is hurting us in the broader war against terror - serving to stir up radicalism and terror across the globe.
And then there is a fact that is not so new. 275 Californians have died in Iraq -- men and women who paid the ultimate price for faulty intelligence and a failed foreign policy, including 21 members of our state's National Guard. No other state has given so many of its best.
I've been plain about my views on George W. Bush's war in Iraq -
It is wrong for our country, and wrong for the Californians who are fighting and dying there.
It is compromising our national security, and winning us enemies when we need allies in the war against terror.
It maims our conscience as a nation -- as well as our young men and women in uniform.
And I say to you today: it is long past time to bring our troops home.
Of course, Governors do not set foreign policy. And my opponent, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has already suggested that my views on this conflict don't belong in this race.
Perhaps he has forgotten about the bully pulpit, and his own prodigious use of it - when he repeatedly told Californians that George Bush's decision to invade Iraq was making us safer.
Perhaps he has forgotten that in final days of the 2004 election, he went, as a sitting Governor, to campaign for President Bush in Ohio -- the state that turned the election and has kept our catastrophic Iraq policy on life support.
Perhaps he has forgotten his own words, that the war in Iraq is "the right thing to do."
Well Governor, that's where I disagree. Continuing a war that had no rationale, that drains our strength to meet real security threats, and that has no exit strategy is the wrong thing to do.
George Bush and Dick Cheney led us into the war on a false pretext. There were no weapons of mass destruction, and no evidence of Saddam Hussein's support for Al Qaeda or the terrible 9/11 attacks.
The titles of the histories of this war tell it all: Fiasco. Blind into Baghdad. Hubris. How American Incompetence Created a War Without End.
But that's not the only reason I'm here today.
You see, a Governor's first responsibility is to ensure the safety of the people of California. And a Governor cannot do that without a strong National Guard.
The Guard, our crucial defense against domestic disorder and natural disaster, has been called for extended and repeated tours of combat. Since 9/11, nine thousand members of our California guard have been deployed overseas, mostly to Iraq.
These tours are exacting a tremendous cost on the Guard--in equipment lost or abandoned in Iraq; in strains on Guard members and their families; in the hollowing out of the force itself. Our Guard has fallen 20 percent below its authorized strength, as fewer members re-enlist and fewer Californians sign up. One can hardly blame them.
And it's about to get worse. President Bush has stretched our forces so thin, there aren't enough combat-ready units to sustain operations in Iraq. Newly published reports indicate that Pentagon officials are looking to fill the gap--after the election--by calling even more heavily on the Guard, further degrading its ability to meet our security needs at home.
Think about that for a moment: this fool's errand overseas isn't just breeding more terror and torture in Iraq, it's also hurting us here in the Golden State.
As a nation, we have spent nearly 400 billion dollars of our wealth on the war in Iraq, money that would have been better spent securing our borders against those who would attack us, tracking down terrorist cells, and inspecting the cargo containers that pour through our ports every day--not to speak of educating our children and providing health care to the sick.
When a shameful and phony war compromises the Governor's basic ability to meet the needs of our people - when it puts us at greater risk of injury and fatality when a disaster strikes our state -
Then you'd better believe it's an issue in the race for Governor of the State of California.
And what does Governor Schwarzenegger say about pressure the war has put on our precious citizen soldiers, on their readiness for earthquake, flood, or fire?
"I am not concerned about that," he said.
Well, I am, and so are the people of California.
California cannot afford a Governor who is blind to the damage this wrong-headed war is doing to our state and national security.
And that is why I say to you today that as Governor, I will do everything in my power to bring our state's National Guard troops home from Iraq.
On day one, I will put in a formal request to President Bush to return our National Guard units to California.
Then I will mobilize governors from across this nation to force a change in national policy -- so Guard units can be used for their intended purpose--protecting our homeland, not propping up the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld excuse for a foreign policy.
I will walk the halls of Congress to mobilize support for a new direction in Iraq - one that that brings our troops home, and turns our strength and resources to the real tasks of truly rooting out and defeating terror.
I will take any action, including going to court, to return our guardsmen and women to California.
And I will do something that Arnold Schwarzenegger cannot even pretend that he will do: work my heart out to elect a Democratic President in 2008. A president who will rebuild the military strength that George Bush has squandered. A president who will put in place national security policies built on evidence and facts, not deception and bravado. A president who will wage and win the war against global terror.
I have the greatest respect for the courage and the sacrifice of our troops in Iraq.
I didn't serve in the armed forces. I finished college just after America ended its involvement in the Vietnam War. But I learned the importance of service and sacrifice at home, from my father, who's with us here today. He flew in B-29s in the Pacific in World War II.
From him I learned about wartime leaders who told the truth about the difficulties ahead.
Who gathered the whole strength of our nation behind the men and women who risked everything on the battlefield to protect our families and our freedoms.
Who honored their sacrifice when they returned home.
Who held the Pentagon accountable by firing those who failed the troops on the frontline.
If you elect me as your Governor, I will not forget what my father taught me.
As a citizen and the leader of this great state, I will do my part to end George Bush's failed adventure in Iraq.
I will stand behind our troops -- and fight to bring our National Guard home to fulfill their true mandate: protecting families here at home.
Join me, and together we can make California safe and prosperous, so all our people can live out their dreams. Thank you.
