Iowa’s two freshmen congressman, both Democrats, oppose what they call President Bush’s plan to "escalate" the war in Iraq. Congressman Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, says the strategy Bush outlined is "ill-advised and does too little to chart a new direction in Iraq." Braley argues it’s time to "turn the fighting over to the Iraqis" and begin removing U.S. troops from Iraq.
Congressman Dave Loebsack, a Democrat from Mount Vernon, says he "strongly" disagrees with the president’s proposal. Loebsack says the president has failed to explain how sending more troops into Baghdad will be any different from his past decisions to increase the number of American troops in Iraq. During the 2006 campaign, Braley said as a last resort he would vote to cut off funding for the Pentagon to get President Bush to start bringing U.S. troops back from Iraq. Loebsack has a stepson and daughter-in-law in the military and Loebsack has said he would never vote to cut off funding for the troops.