As War Enters Fifth Year, Florida Republicans Still Won't Hold Bush Accountable

For Immediate Release:  March 19, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - Today, as the war in Iraq enters its fifth year, Florida's Republicans in Congress continue to ignore the American people and refuse to hold President Bush accountable for his permanent commitment to a failed strategy. The American people went to the polls last November and demanded a new direction in Iraq. Yet Republicans like U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, U.S. Reps. Dave Weldon, Bill Young and others have consistently ignored the will of the people, the advice of our military commanders, and the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group by rubberstamping the President's plan to escalate the war.

Our brave men and women in uniform have now been in Iraq for four years, longer than our nation's participation in World War II, World War I, the Korean War, or the Civil War. Everyday, they put their lives on the line, serving admirably and courageously in defense of our freedoms.

"As we mark today's sad milestone in the Iraq War, Republicans like Congressmen Weldon and Young have to choose between rubberstamping President Bush's open-ended commitment to a failed strategy, or finally joining Democrats in holding the Bush Administration and the Iraqi Government accountable by setting a specific plan for the phased redeployment of U.S. troops," Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman said. "It's time for Republicans to honor the service and sacrifice of our soldiers by joining Democrats in fighting for a new direction in Iraq and fighting to provide the troops the resources they need on the battlefield and the care they deserve when they return home. The people have spoken; its time for Republicans to listen."

Florida Republicans unwillingness to join Democrats in fighting for a new direction in Iraq comes despite the tremendous toll this war has had on our state's brave men and women in uniform and on our emergency preparedness here at home. In the last four years, 130 soldiers from Florida have died in Iraq while many more have been wounded. [http://icasualties.org/oif/Statecity.aspx]

Our troops have been sent into battle with out a plan for victory, without the resources and equipment they need to get the job done, and without a plan to care for our wounded soldiers when they come home. With less than three months until hurricane season, our National Guard units here in Florida are stretched dangerously thin. Please read below to learn more about the toll the Iraq War is taking on the families of those who have served this country proudly.

Troops Forced to Put Homecoming on Hold Due to Extensions.
"Army Spec. Jesse Espinosa figured he was down to just six more missions off this base west of Baghdad. Six more missions in the turret of his armored vehicle, fingertip at the trigger, performing duty so dangerous soldiers here liken it to Russian roulette: providing convoy security along supply routes in deadly Anbar province. Six more missions, then home to his wife, three children and civilian job as a cook in Bricelyn, Minn. But all that has to wait." [Washington Post, 2/11/07]

Surge Separates Soldiers from Newborns.
"As a member of the Army's Individual Ready Reserve, Sgt. Timothy Stamper, 27, was deployed last year. His contract with the Army is supposed to end in April, he said. But he knows he won't be going home to his 2-year-old son until at least summer. And he worries that when he does finally get home, his child ‘won't know who I am.'" [Washington Post, 2/11/07]

Troops Receive Duty Extension News from Families.
"News of the extension hit many soldiers hard at first. For a few, it has even led to divorce, Hartley said. Many soldiers were furious about how they found out about the extended duty: The news came from families back home-and not the chain of command-which ‘kills morale,' Hartley said." [Washington Post, 2/11/07]

Soldiers Apprehensive of Employment Situation Upon Return from Surge.
"‘A lot of guys got grief because of their being in the Guard,' Hanson said. ‘The law says that nobody can be fired, but several guys were laid off. It really hurt those who had their own business.' [Los Angeles Times, 1/15/07]

Involuntary Tour Extensions are "Disappointing" and Take Toll on Troops and Families.
"‘It's very disappointing. These are soldiers who had an internal clock ticking,' Maj. Gen. Glenn Rieth told reporters in explaining the Pentagon's new rotation system in the wake of President Bush's Wednesday call for more troops to secure Baghdad and Iraq.Reith said his main concern is to assuage concerns and difficulties faced by the families of the guard members, with whom Reith has scheduled meetings.'When they do redeploy, it would be for a one-year period,' said Reith, adding, ‘This will be an involuntary call-up.'" [Home News Tribune (East Brunswick, NJ) 1/12/2007]

Spouse of Soldier Cancels Re-assimilation Workshop.
"In Cannon Falls, Minn., Sara Peer canceled the workshop she had arranged for National Guard spouses this weekend. It was to have been about helping soldiers readjust to civilian lives when they come home. ‘No one will want to hear that now,' Peer said. ‘I've asked the chaplain to come be with us instead.'" [Los Angeles Times, 1/12/07]

New Fathers Kept In Iraq.
"That means Capt. Joshua Simer, 31, will not make it back to St. Paul in time to see his daughter, Amy, gobble her first birthday cake in May. He missed her birth as well, and her first smile. Simer was home on leave for two weeks in November. But Amy knows her daddy mostly from his photos -- laminated so she can drool all over them -- and from the videotape he made of himself singing ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider.'" [Los Angeles Times, 1/12/07]

Soldier's Blog: Troops in State of "Misery." "As the news spread Thursday, Sgt. Nick Bope wrote in his blog, ‘You can feel the misery that the soldiers are feeling.... They have to try and console their families and themselves at the same time, a quite difficult task.'" [Los Angeles Times, 1/12/07]

Two-Year-Old Recognizes Costs of War As Father Departs for Second Tour in Iraq.
"Caleb Walton is only 2 years old, but he knew Wednesday exactly what was going on around him. Daddy was going to war for the second time in little more than a year. Along with brother Noah, 4, and stepbrother Korben, also 4, and dressed in his replica Army camouflage uniform, Caleb whimpered through his tears and clung tightly to his father, Spc. Antonio Walton. ‘It's a shame when a 2-year-old knows what's going on," said Walton's wife, Angela, as she tried to console her son. Walton was among about 150 soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, who left here Wednesday for Iraq." [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/11/07]

Father of Second-Tour-Soldier Sees No Need for Troop Surge.
"It will be Jason Nett's second combat tour in Iraq. Ken Nett (Jason's Father) said he had no expectations that the additional troops would provide any short-term solution. ‘We have enough troops over there as it is,' he said. ‘I don't think they're ever going to solve that problem over there.'" [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/11/07]

Soldier Foresees No Change In Iraq Situation Despite Increased Troop Presence.
"Spec. Greg Calim, 23, a soldier from Craig who served with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team and will leave the Army next month after fulfilling a four-year commitment, was skeptical of how the additional troops will change the direction in Iraq. ‘It'll probably be about the same,' Calim said." [Denver Post, 1/11/07]

Troops Missing Out on Christmases, Birthdays.
"This year Tywila Walker and her two girls took the annual studio Christmas photo without her husband, Cpl. Robert Walker, who will spend his holiday stationed in al-Asad, Iraq. The thought of sending out holiday photos showing the girls in wide smiles and pigtails, but with the absence of the man in their lives painfully obvious, seems heart-wrenching, but Tywila Walker said it was just another day in dealing with her husband's third deployment to Iraq since 2003. ‘He missed everybody's birthday and our anniversary,' including Kamya's first birthday, she said. ‘That's more important to me than Christmas.'" [Beaufort (SC) Gazette, 12/23/06]

Soldiers Describe Disorders, Divorces, and Deployment in Internet Blogs.
"Internet blogs written by soldiers or their wives tell of suicide attempts by soldiers haunted by combat, civilian careers of reservists who've been harmed by deployment and redeployment, and marriages broken by distance and the trauma of war." [Charlotte (NC) Observer, 12/10/06]

Multiple Deployments Harm Marriages.
"Internet blogs written by soldiers or their wives tell. civilian careers of reservists who've been harmed by deployment and redeployment, and marriages broken by distance and the trauma of war. 'Back-to-back war deployments has changed both of us-to where it's as if a marriage does not exist anymore,' wrote a woman calling herself Blackhawk wife on an Iraq war vets Web site." [McClatchy Newspapers, 12/5/06]

Senate Republicans OK Bush Escalation Plan Even Though Soldiers from Fort Carson's 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team Say Possibility of Third Tour Has Devastated Morale, Families.
"Others [soldiers] said the specter of a third war tour has hurt morale in the unit and devastated families who expected the Army to follow through on stated goals to start giving soldiers two years at hombetween war tours." [Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO) 10/12/06]

Soldiers Sacrifice with Multiple Tours in Iraq.
"She [Capt. Elisabeth Hurley] told of driving past a group of soldiers saying goodbye to their loved ones. ‘It's a depressing, depressing picture, and I think it's something that the American people should know about, that they should see -- that there are people in the military that have left their families two or three times now in the last five years,' she said. ‘That is a very large sacrifice,' she said." [Herald Sun (Durham, NC) 10/8/2006]