Memorializing Congress and the President to stop the escalation of the war in Iraq.

WHEREAS, The state of Colorado honors the bravery and 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. 63 recently passed by the United States House of Representatives and urges the United States Senate to also pass this measure of 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.