Bay Area Congressional Delegation Praises Obama Over Iraq Withdrawal
WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS SF) -- President Barack Obama on Friday declared an end to the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in U.S. history, announcing that all U.S. troops would be withdrawn from the country by year's end.
Obama's statement put an end to months of wrangling over whether the U.S. would maintain a force in Iraq beyond 2011, and it drew swift praise from the San Francisco Bay Area's congressional delegation.
"I commend the President for a promise made and a promise kept," U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said in a statement. Pelosi said the move honors "the U.S.-Iraq Security Agreement and the wishes of the American people to bring all our troops home by the end this year."
Here are reactions from other Bay Area representatives:
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto)
"I voted against the Iraq war resolution in 2002, and since then I have fought to end this war. It has cost us dearly. There have been over 4,400 U.S. lives lost and more than 30,000 U.S. soldiers wounded. Our country has spent trillions of dollars in Iraq during a profound economic downturn, and our international reputation has been needlessly tarnished by a war that should never have taken place. I've waited a long time to hear the news that our troops will finally come home."
Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena)
"Today's announcement that all United States troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of the year is overdue, but welcome news. As a combat veteran, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart to the brave men and women who have served in Iraq, each with great distinction, and to their families. Our troops have done an outstanding job. They have done all that we asked of them and more. Now it is time to bring them home to their families and for the Iraqis to take full control of their country's defenses."
Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma)
"In 2005, I called for the first vote to end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home. With the President's announcement today, I am grateful that goal, even if it's long overdue, will finally be reached. It's heartbreaking that our nation has lost more than 4,400 service members, spent more than $799 billion, and left emotional and mental scars throughout our country and Iraq in this unjustifiable war."
Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield)
"President Obama has put America's national security and the wellbeing of our brave men and women in uniform first by committing to bring our troops home from Iraq by the end of the year. I want to congratulate President Obama for definitively ending this misguided war. Airmen at Travis Air Force Base will play a critical role in bringing our service members home, and I look forward to thanking many of them in person soon. Every American willing to risk everything for our country is a hero and deserves a hero's welcome."
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland)
"This is a huge victory for those of us who have been pushing for an end to the war in Iraq. I look forward to welcoming our brave men and women back home for the holidays. We will never forget the enormous sacrifices made by so many of our brave men and women and their families. We must honor our commitment to our veterans. This move fulfills the call of a letter to the President that I spearheaded in July, along with 92 members of Congress, urging the Administration 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."
Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo)
"I applaud the President for fulfilling his promise to end the war in Iraq and bring home all of our troops. As our brave men and women come home, we must make sure they receive the services and help they deserve to reintegrate into civilian life. It is time for us to wind down America's wars abroad and focus on creating jobs here at home and investing in our country."
(Copyright 2011 CBS San Francisco. All rights reserved.)
