Washington, D.C. - House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) said the following about President Obama's statement on the situation in Iraq today:
"Any course the President chooses involves increased risk due to the years of disengagement in the region. This half-step won’t mitigate that risk. The American people are losing confidence in the President’s stewardship of our National Security. Our adversaries have been emboldened, and our allies lost confidence a while ago. There isn’t going to be an immediate resolution to this crisis. But what is clear is that the United States must be actively engaged or as we are witnessing we put our security at significant risk. I want to urge the President- for once- to make up his mind and commit to a comprehensive course of action in the region.”
"As part of his approach, the President pledged to work closely with Congress to fund additional assets to Iraq from his new counter terrorism fund. Unfortunately, the President has yet to send a proposal to Congress, even though the law requires proposals of this kind to be submitted in February. It’s true that the events in Iraq are unraveling rapidly, but if this fund has any merit, the President’s indecisiveness to date now means he has missed the primary opportunities for the House to consider this proposal. The Defense Authorization Act passed the House last month, the Defense Appropriations Act is up for a vote tonight. I am not sure how the President expects us to act if he refuses to send us a proposal."