(Warwick, R.I.) Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, today released the following statement regarding the President’s decision to allow the Marine Corps to involuntarily call up members of the Individual Ready Reserve:

“I am deeply concerned that the Marines need to resort to calling up 2,500 from the Individual Ready Reserve. This decision, announced today, further illustrates the extreme burden that our operations in Iraq are placing on our servicemembers and our military readiness, and the need for civilian leadership changes to be made at the Pentagon.

“I am reiterating my call for Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation. While our men and women in uniform have done an impressive job performing increasingly difficult missions in Iraq, it is not in the United States' best interest to continue placing more and more of them in harm’s way. It is also not the best use of our already beleaguered military infrastructure.

“The operational conditions in Iraq have taken a heavy toll on our military equipment, and multiple deployments of troops to the region have harmed our military’s readiness to respond to other crises.  Secretary Rumsfeld has ignored the urgency of this problem, and unless we make significant changes soon, we run the risk of doing serious long-term damage to our armed forces. 

"Secretary Rumsfeld was a key architect of the war in Iraq, and he has mismanaged it from the start.  Instead of enhancing our national security as he promised, the conflict has led to an overstretched military, frayed alliances, and the prospect of civil war in an important global region.  I have stated that 2006 should be a year of transition of security responsibility from U.S. forces to the Iraqis, but Secretary Rumsfeld has not heard that message.  We need new leadership at the Pentagon so that we can bring our troops home as quickly and safely as possible, not continue to build our troop strength in the region."

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