Davis applauds work of Iraq Study Group

December 06, 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C. Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., made the following statement in response to the release of the report of the Iraq Study Group:

"I applaud the Iraq Study Group for the time-consuming, thorough, honest assessment of U.S. involvement in Iraq it conducted over the last nine months. I applaud my friend and colleague, Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., for helping to establish this panel, and I join Sen. John Warner, R-Va., and others in Congress in supporting its work.

"The 10 members of the ISG are outstanding public servants, and their recommendations demand to be considered seriously. As I pointed out in a letter to the Department of Defense last spring, the situation cries out for a fresh evaluation. And they provided it.

"I agree with the ISG's findings that the Iraqi government needs to do more to bring stability and security to its people. I also agree with the suggestion that we engage all governments in the region to help chart the course to stability. Yes, potential pitfalls attain to this approach, and I am troubled by suggestions that Israel cede control of the Golan Heights. But this problem wasn't created in a vacuum and it won't be solved in one.

"I am committed to seeing that American forces are withdrawn from Iraq as soon as practical. I agree with President Bush and the members of the Iraq Study group that our goal is and should remain "an Iraq that can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend itself," and I pay tribute to those American's who are in harm's way now or who have sacrificed in ways small or large to help bring this about."