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SENATOR PERATA PLAYS CONGRESSMAN

SENATOR PERATA PLAYS CONGRESSMAN

"Californians deserve better than to have their legislature waste time and valuable taxpayer dollars with ridiculous political theater on issues in which they have neither credibility nor authority.  During a 45-minute floor debate today on Senate Pro Tem Don Perata's Iraq resolution, Senator Perata and the rest of the Democrat State Senators failed to mention that panels of experts, including the Iraq Study Group, the National Intelligence Estimate Report and even Democrat party leaders and presidential candidates, have said that setting an arbitrary timeline for withdrawal would be irresponsible, dangerous, and viewed by Al Qaeda as an historic victory.

"With the recent indictment of Democrat Congressman William Jefferson and Senator Don Perata's own FBI inquiries still looming, Senator Perata seems more interested in playing Congressman than acknowledging that our state lawmakers lack the expertise in the nuances of foreign policy and the capacity to hold intellectually honest hearings on military strategy." 

Hector M. Barajas, Communications Director, California Republican Party

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): "As Far As Setting A Timeline ... That's Not A Wise Decision, Because It Only Empowers Those Who Don't Want Us There." "...I don't think Senator Kennedy called for any certain time to withdraw the troops. I think that we all look for the day that they can come home. But as far as setting a timeline, as we learned in the Balkans, that's not a wise decision, because it only empowers those who don't want us there, and it doesn't work well to do that." (Sen. Reid, Remarks To The National Press Club, 01/31/05)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY): "I Don't Believe It's Smart To Set A Date For Withdrawal. I Don't Think You Should Ever Telegraph Your Intentions To The Enemy So They Can Await You." (Village Voice, 9/22/05 Via "Clinton II: Parsing Clinton's History On Iraq," National Journal's The Hotline, 02/13/07)

• Clinton: "I reject a rigid timetable that the terrorists can exploit, and I reject an open timetable that has no ending attached to it." (Bruce Schreiner, "Clinton Tells Ky. Dems Bush Mismanaged War," The Associated Press, 12/3/05)

Clinton Said "An Immediate U.S. Withdrawal From Iraq Would Be 'A Big Mistake.'" "Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said ... that an immediate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq would be 'a big mistake.' the New York Democrat said she respects Rep. Jack Murtha, D-PA. ... but she added: 'I think that would cause more problems for us in America.'"(Jim Fitzgerald, "Hillary Clinton Says Immediate Withdrawal From Iraq Would Be 'A Big Mistake,'" The Associated Press, 11/21/05)

• Sen. Clinton: "It will matter to us if Iraq totally collapses into civil war, if it becomes a failed state the way Afghanistan was, where terrorists are free to basically set up camp and launch attacks against us."(Jim Fitzgerald, "Hillary Clinton Says Immediate Withdrawal From Iraq Would Be 'A Big Mistake,'" The Associated Press, 11/21/05)

SEN BARACK OBAMA: "A Hard And Fast, Arbitrary Deadline For Withdrawal Offers Our Commanders In The Field, And Our Diplomats In The Region, Insufficient Flexibility To Implement That Strategy."(Sen. Barack Obama, Congressional Record, p. S6233, 6/21/06) 

• Obama Warned Against "Precipitous Withdrawal . . . Driven By Congressional Edict." Obama: "For all these reasons, I would like nothing more than to support the Kerry Amendment; to bring our brave troops home on a date certain, and spare the American people more pain, suffering and sorrow. But having visited Iraq, I'm also acutely aware that a precipitous withdrawal of our troops, driven by Congressional edict rather than the realities on the ground, will not undo the mistakes made by this Administration. It could compound them. It could compound them by plunging Iraq into an even deeper and, perhaps, irreparable crisis." (Sen. Barack Obama, Congressional Record, p. S6233, 6/21/06)

The Iraq Study Group Said That A Premature American Departure From Iraq Would Have "A Number Of Adverse Consequences":  Iraq Study Group: "We Also Rejected The Immediate Withdrawal Of Our Troops, Because We Believe That So Much Is At Stake."("The Iraq Study Group Report," 12/6/06, p. 50)

• Iraq Study Group: "The Near-Term Results Would Be A Significant Power Vacuum, Greater Human Suffering, Regional Destabilization, And A Threat To The Global Economy. Al Qaeda Would Depict Our Withdrawal As A Historic Victory."("The Iraq Study Group Report," 12/6/06, p. 30)

The National Intelligence Estimate Report Warned Against Precipitous Withdrawal:  The National Intelligence Estimate States That If Coalition Forces Were "Rapidly Withdrawn" There Would Be "Adverse Consequences For National Reconciliation." "If Coalition forces were withdrawn rapidly ... we judge that this almost certainly would lead to a significant increase in the scale and scope of sectarian conflict in Iraq, intensify Sunni resistance to the Iraqi Government, and have adverse consequences for national reconciliation." (National Intelligence Estimate Report, "Prospects For Iraq's Stability," www.dni.gov, 1/07)