Hawaii Dem 'mind-boggled' Pentagon would brief on Iraq war plan

The Hill, February 23, 2015

"I was similarly mind-boggled, and didn't understand at all how this could be part of a strategic plan in what they're talking about," Gabbard, an Army captain and Iraq veteran, said on CNN.

"That you're not only outlining the timeline — which is troubling, but you're also talking about specifically how many troops, how many brigades, where they're coming from, and what they're going to be doing," she added. ...

"We need to shift our strategy so I'm going to keep working on it," she said. "We have to stop them in their tracks and defeat them militarily and ideologically."

The Hawaii Democrat has been at odds with the administration over its strategy against ISIS, calling for the administration to arm Kurdish forces directly and acknowledge that the war is against "Islamic" extremists.

"The reason why I feel so strongly about this is personally, is because it comes from my own experience at having served in Iraq," she said.

"I served in a medical unit where I saw the cost of war every single day and understand the need to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes again," she said.

"This is an issue that transcends partisan politics," she said. "It's something that we need to have a vigorous debate and dialogue on."

read ... The Hill

Schatz Blames 'Republicans' for Obama War Powers Resolution

NM: "The Republicans are trying to enable or at least allow for the possibility of a ground war," said liberal Democrat Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii. "If the language reflects that, they're not going to get a lot of Democratic votes."

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