Listen Live: Senate Debates Iraq War Resolution

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UPDATE: The resolution passes on a 20-14 party line vote.

At 9:00 a.m. today, Senators Ron Tupa (D-Boulder) and Ken Gordon (D-Denver) will introduce Senate Joint Memorial 2: Stop the Escalation of War in Iraq that opposes President Bush’s plan to increase the number of American troops in Iraq by 21,500.

The debate will be audio webcast hereAccording to a press release issued this morning by the Senate Majority Communications office:

The resolution mirrors a similar measure, HCR 63, passed in the U.S. House of Representatives with bipartisan support on a vote of 246-182 on February 16, 2007. The resolution is part of a nationwide effort by state legislatures to put pressure on Congress and the President to stop the escalation and change the direction of the war in Iraq.

The full text of the resolution reads as follows:

MEMORIALIZING CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT TO STOP THE101 ESCALATION OF THE WAR IN IRAQ.

WHEREAS, The state of Colorado honors the bravery and1
sacrifice of the United States’ armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and  that of their families; and

WHEREAS, The United States’ involvement in Iraq has resulted in the deaths of more than 3,150 United States soldiers, including the deaths of more than 100 servicemen and servicewomen stationed in Colorado, and the wounding and disabling of more than 22,000 United States military personnel to date; and

WHEREAS, The Colorado General Assembly supports efforts to
create peace in Iraq and the Middle East; and

WHEREAS, The war in Iraq has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians, which undermines our effort to achieve peace, stability, and democracy in Iraq; and

WHEREAS, On January 10, 2007, President George W. Bush
announced his intention to escalate the war in Iraq by sending an additional 21,500 United States troops to Iraq; and

WHEREAS, The bipartisan Iraq Study Group and leading military
officials are calling for a reduction in American troops in Iraq and a change of the United States’ strategy; and

WHEREAS, On February 7, 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Corps General Peter Pace acknowledged that a debate in Congress on the war in Iraq would not hurt the morale of troops in combat; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty-sixth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:

(1)  That the state of Colorado supports and honors its servicemen and servicewomen and will support Congress in ensuring that there are sufficient resources made available to support the United States’ armed forces so long as they remain in Iraq and Afghanistan;

(2)  That the Colorado General Assembly urges Congress and the President to remain respectful of the patriotism of all Americans, including those who respectfully express their dissent concerning the United States’ current foreign policy;

(3)  That it is not in the national interest of the United States to
deepen its military involvement in Iraq, particularly by escalating the United States’ military force presence in Iraq; and

(4)  That the Colorado General Assembly supports H.C.R. 6324
recently passed by the United States House of Representatives and urges the United States Senate to also pass this measure or a similar measure opposing the escalation of troops in Iraq.

Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Memorial be sent to President George W. Bush and each member of Colorado’s Congressional delegation.

To date, similar resolutions have been drafted in a dozen states. A CBS News poll released yesterday found that 59 percent of Americans favor a U.S. House provision setting a timetable for troops to be out of Iraq by September 2008.

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