Carper Statement On President’s Speech on Iraq

WASHINGTON, DC (Sept. 8, 2003) – Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., on Monday issued the following statement on President Bush’s speech Sunday night, requesting an additional $87 billion for peacekeeping and reconstruction efforts in Iraq: I’m encouraged that the president has decided to pursue getting more countries to help with ongoing peacekeeping and reconstruction activities in Iraq. Increased international cooperation is the only way we’re going to secure peace in Iraq and help defray the huge costs of rebuilding the beleaguered country. Certainly, I will support whatever sums of money are necessary in Iraq, including the $87 billion that President Bush referenced in his speech last night. But given our ballooning deficits, which next year alone could now top $600 billion, it is critical that the president successfully negotiate a new United Nations resolution authorizing the U.N.’s role in bringing peace to Iraq.