"One of the reasons I voted against the war resolution to go into Iraq in the first place was that Iraq was not a threat to the United States in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and that attacking Iraq would unleash forces we could not control. I was not alone in making those arguments, which tragically have been validated by events. My latest trip to Iraq has, sadly, reinforced my belief that success is being redefined only once again, and what we need to do is to take decisive action to end our combat involvement in Iraq and refocus our efforts on destroying al Qaeda and eliminating the conditions that breed international terrorism and refocusing our resources on pressing domestic and international needs."
-Rush Holt, May 14, 2008 on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives

Rush Holt voted against the October 2002 resolution that authorized President Bush to go to war with Iraq because the evidence did not support it. Since then, he consistently has opposed the unnecessary and misguided war that has resulted in the deaths of more than 4,000 American soldiers, cost taxpayers more than $650 billion, and prevented our country from focusing on other national security concerns.

Rep. Holt believes that American troops have done everything they have been asked, and that they are heroes. His most recent trip to Iraq was in May 2008, where he met with active duty soldiers from New Jersey, as well as with General David Petraeus and Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker to discuss the situation on the ground, including the status of any political reconciliation among Iraq's warring factions. This visit only further convinced him of the need for America to adopt a more sensible course of action in Iraq.

Rush Holt understands that redeploying our troops does not mean we should walk away from Iraq. He believes that America still needs to help Iraq rebuild and reconstruct, but that securing the country and building a sustainable democracy is something that only the Iraqis can do.

In Congress, Rep. Holt has been part of an effort to press for ways to end our involvement in Iraq. On November 14, 2007, he helped the House pass the Orderly and Responsible Iraq Redeployment Appropriations Act, which would have required the withdrawal from Iraq within 30 days of ther bill becoming law, while giving deployed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan the resources they need to defend themselves and carry out a responsible redeployment. Unfortunately, the bill failed to clear the Senate. He has continued - and will continue - to oppose efforts to allow the Iraq war to continue indefinitely.