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Busansky Wants Accountability In Congress; New Strategy In Iraq

By Tim Runyon

Phyllis Busansky, candidate for Congress in Florida’s 9th District — parts of Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties — has released the following plan for Iraq:

“Congress does not make war policy — but it is responsible for holding our leaders accountable; and this Congress has failed. The brave men and women serving in Iraq deserve accountability and they deserve a new strategy to complete our mission.

“Secretary Rumsfeld should be fired; greedy contractors who unpatriotically steal from taxpayers need to be held accountable; and we need to look at a three-state solution to avoid civil war and allow us to bring our troops home.

“It is morally wrong to send US troops into harm’s way without proper body armor, equipment and up-armored Humvees. Congress must demand this administration support our soldiers with the proper gear and weaponry.

“War profiteering is unpatriotic. Congress must also do its job by holding contractors in Iraq accountable. That’s why I support a new ‘Truman Commission’ tasked with investigating and ending fraud and abuse among contractors — and, if warranted, charging serious offenders with treason.

“Finally, we need a new strategy in Iraq. I support Senator Joseph Biden’s plan which calls for a three-state solution in Iraq — separate, self-governing regions for the Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites — under a central government in Baghdad tasked with border security and management of oil revenues. This will allow us to strategically redeploy our troops — thus avoiding civil war. We must shift the burden of governing to these three self-governing regions.

“It’s time to change Congress. It’s time for accountability. And it’s time to begin bringing our troops home to the heroes welcome they deserve.”

Keys to accountability and completion of our mission in Iraq:

• Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld should be fired. Busansky believes that Secretary Rumsfeld has failed our country and failed the men and women in our armed forces. He should be fired and replaced with a new Secretary committed to a new strategy to complete our mission.

• Congress must fully fund body armor, equipment, and up-armored Humvees. Like many Americans, Busansky believes it is morally wrong to send our soldiers into harms’ way without proper armor and equipment. She will work to fully fund requests for body armor, weaponry, and armored vehicles — and to reimburse the families of soldiers who funded body armor out of their own pockets.

• Improve quality of life for soldiers currently in combat areas. Busansky supports efforts to make increases in “imminent danger pay” and family separation allowances permanent for soldiers stationed in Iraq.

• Investigate waste, fraud and abuse by U.S. contractors in Iraq. In a January 2006 report, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction stated that “billions in U.S. taxpayer funds for the reconstruction of Iraq are either unaccounted for, stolen or have been misspent.” Busansky supports a new “Truman Commission” tasked with ending fraud and abuse among contractors — and, if warranted, charging serious offenders with treason. War profiteering is unpatriotic. It’s time Congress did its job and held companies like Halliburton accountable for their actions.

• Support Senator Joseph Biden’s “Unity through Autonomy” plan. Busansky supports a three-state solution in Iraq — separate, self-governing regions for the Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites — under a central government in Baghdad tasked with border security and management of oil revenues. This will allow us to strategically redeploy our troops — thus avoiding civil war — and put the burden of governing on these three distinct, self-governing regions.

Tim Runyon is Research and Communications Coordinator of the Busansky for Congress campaign.