Brown Statement In Response To Blockbuster Military Editorials Calling For Rumsfeld’s Resignation

AMHERST - In response to a blockbuster joint editorial set to run Monday in the Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times calling for the resignation of Secretary Rumsfeld, U.S. Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today released the following statement on incumbent Republican Senator Mike DeWine's failure to listen to our military leaders and call for Rumsfeld's resignation:

"On Monday, four major military publications will say what Mike DeWine still refuses to - 'Donald Rumsfeld must go,'" Brown said. "DeWine said he'd listen to our military leaders when it comes to Iraq, but has failed to hear some of our most respected Generals who've said that changing course in Iraq begins with firing the man running the war. DeWine is still taking his orders from the political bosses fighting to keep their jobs in Washington rather than the military leaders who have fought on the battlefield, which is why Ohio voters will soon add him to the long list of Bush Republicans who must go."

To read the full editorial, please click:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/indexn/detail?blogid=16&entry_id=10582

Below is an excerpt:

"Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops, with Congress and with the public at large. His strategy has failed, and his ability to lead is compromised. And although the blame for our failures in Iraq rests with the secretary, it will be the troops who bear its brunt.

"This is not about the midterm elections. Regardless of which party wins Nov. 7, the time has come, Mr. President, to face the hard bruising truth:

"Donald Rumsfeld must go."

11/04/2006 / Permalink / Iraq, (all tags)

Does Mike DeWine Agree with President Bush’s Latest Assessment of the War in Iraq?

CLEVELAND - U.S. Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today released the following statement calling on Senator DeWine (R-OH) to explain whether he agrees with the President's latest assessment of the war in Iraq:

"After one of the deadliest months for American troops in Iraq, a month where some of the most respected Republicans, from Colin Powell to James Baker, are saying we need a change in course, President Bush today said that we are winning the war in Iraq. Senator DeWine has long supported President Bush and his stay-the-course strategy in Iraq. If Mike DeWine agrees with the President that we're winning the war in Iraq, then he has an obligation to explain to the people of Ohio how long he thinks our troops need to be there, and what needs to happen for them to come home. There is a clear need for the United States to change course in Iraq, and I have called time and again for President Bush to work with military leaders to develop a winning exit strategy."

At his press conference today, the President said, "We're winning and we will win, unless we leave before the job is done."

Sherrod Brown has consistently opposed the war in Iraq.

10/25/2006 / Permalink / Iraq, (all tags)

Four Years Later, DeWine Still Stays The Failed Course

AMHERST, OH -- Today marks the fourth anniversary of Senator DeWine's vote to go to war with Iraq over non-existent weapons of mass destruction.  Four years later, Senator DeWine continues to support President Bush's failed stay-the-course strategy.  He failed to call for a winning exit strategy and said that troops should only be redeployed from Iraq if the country breaks out into civil war.  Today, Republican National Committee Chairman and former Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman is campaigning with DeWine in Columbus, rewarding him for rubberstamping the President's war strategy and voting with him more than 90 percent of the time in Congress.
 
"Senator DeWine is a roadblock to progress in Iraq," said U.S. Representative Sherrod Brown (D-OH).  "For four years, he stood by the President's failed stay-the-course strategy and voted against investigating intelligence failures.  It's time for a new direction in Ohio and a changed course in Iraq."

10/11/2006 / Permalink / Iraq, (all tags)

Sherrod Brown Delivers Democratic Radio Address on Fifth Anniversary of 9/11

AMHERST, OH – Today Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-OH), candidate for the United States Senate Seat in Ohio, delivered the Democratic response to the President’s National Radio Address marking the fifth anniversary of September 11.

The text and audio file is available here: http://sherrodbrown.com/pages/democratic_radio_response. The address aired immediately following the president’s address on major radio networks, including ABC, AP, AURN, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, NPR, American Forces Radio, Voice of America, BBC, CBC, and Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

09/09/2006 / Permalink / Homeland Security, Iraq, (all tags)

Sherrod Delivers Democratic Response to President Bush’s 9/11 Anniversary Address

On Saturday, September 9, 2006, Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-OH), candidate for the United States Senate Seat in Ohio, delivered the Democratic response to the President’s National Radio Address marking the fifth anniversary of September 11. 

The address aired immediately following the president’s address on major radio networks, including ABC, AP, AURN, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, NPR, American Forces Radio, Voice of America, BBC, CBC, and Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Listen to audio below:

Click here to learn more.

09/09/2006 / Permalink / Audio, Homeland Security, Iraq, (all tags)

DeWine Says If Intel Had Been Accurate, Congress Would Not Have Authorized War In Iraq

Standing next to McCain, DeWine again fails to hold Bush administration accountable on Iraq
 
COLUMBUS, OH - Standing next to Senator John McCain as he criticized the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq, Senator Mike DeWine said yesterday at a news conference in Columbus that Congress would not have had the chance to authorize the war had the U.S. intelligence on Iraq been accurate.  "It would never have come up for a vote so it would have been an entirely different situation," said DeWine [Canton Repository 8/23/06]. As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator DeWine abdicated his responsibility to scrutinize the intelligence that led to the Iraq war.  Instead of echoing McCain's remarks, DeWine yesterday again failed to criticize the administration's handling of the war or to call for an exit strategy.
 
"Instead of rigorously investigating the intelligence that sent Ohio's brave men and women to war in Iraq, Senator DeWine slept through Intelligence Committee hearings," said U.S. Representative Sherrod Brown, who voted against the war in Iraq.  "Mike DeWine rubberstamped the Bush administration's faulty intelligence and repeated claims about biological and chemical weapons that did not materialize."  
 
Senator John McCain said that the Bush administration misled Americans by saying that the war in Iraq would be "some kind of day at the beach," and that issuing statements like the insurgency is in its "last throes" and declaring "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq has helped to build the overwhelming frustration Americans are feeling with the war today.
 
In July 2002, it was reported that "[DeWine] repeated his insistence that Saddam Hussein has chemical and biological weapons and is trying to get nuclear weapons.  He refused to be specific, saying, ‘A lot of this is classified.'" [Toledo Blade 7/10/02].  But after the war, his perspective on the intelligence changed.  DeWine said he was "not sure whether Congress would have voted to approve war in Iraq had lawmakers known intelligence indicating Iraq had weapons of mass destruction was based on second hand and unreliable information . . . We relied on indirect evidence, what turned out to be unreliable evidence"  [Associated Press 7/9/04].
 
"Senator DeWine based his vote to go to war with Iraq on inaccurate and unreliable evidence that he had the opportunity and duty to review.  Ohio needs a new leadership that will ask the tough questions and demand answers and accountability," stated Brown.

08/23/2006 / Permalink / Iraq, (all tags)

Brown: Refocus Our Resources on Winning the War on Terror

The war in Iraq has drained military's resources, capacity
 
CINCINNATI, OH -- U.S. Representative Sherrod Brown today said that the terror attacks thwarted in Great Britain highlight the immediate need for the United States to refocus its efforts in fighting the war on terror.
 
"The attempted attacks on the United States remind us that we should be thankful for allies like Great Britain.  British authorities saved countless lives and they deserve our gratitude," said Brown.  "Today's failed attacks underscore the need to refocus our resources on fighting the war on terror.  Iraq has diverted billions of dollars from our defense budget and drained our military's capacity.  Our success in the war on terror depends on having the available manpower and resources to hunt down terrorist networks around the world.  As we continue to follow the Republican's stay-the-course strategy in Iraq, Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden remain on the loose."
 
The situation on the ground in Afghanistan has deteriorated, with insurgent attacks on the rise and the Taliban regaining strength.  Iran and Syria have bolstered their role in Iraq and across the Middle East, and they continue to funnel money to terrorist groups that threaten our troops and allies in the region.
 
"Winning the war on terror will also require securing our nation," added Brown.  "We must immediately implement and fully fund the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.  We must secure our ports, our plants, our rail, and our airports to make our homeland security fail safe."
 
Mike DeWine and the Bush administration have failed to secure America.  Less than 10% of the cargo at our nation's ports is inspected.  Transit security has been underfunded.  The airport cargo explosive screening procedures recommended by the 9/11 Commission have not been implemented.  Three Ohio cities are considered to be at high risk for terrorist attacks, but DeWine did nothing as the Bush administration cut homeland security grants to the state by $37 million.

08/10/2006 / Permalink / Homeland Security, Iraq, (all tags)

VIDEO: Cleland Veterans Tour

Watch highlights from Sherrod's statewide tour to support our troops. Special guests include former Senator and Vietnam war veteran Max Cleland and Iraq veteran Paul Hackett. Stops include Mansfield, Dayton, and Cincinnati.

08/09/2006 / Permalink / Cleland Tour, Iraq, Veterans, Video, (all tags)