03/21/2007

By BRAD CAIN  / Associated Press

After two hours of emotional debate, which included one lawmaker reading the names of Oregonians killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Oregon House backed a resolution Tuesday urging President Bush and Congress to withdraw troops from Iraq as soon as possible.

Approval of the nonbinding resolution came after sponsors said it was important for state lawmakers to send a message, on behalf of their constituents, that Oregonians no longer support the four-year-old Iraq war and want U.S. troops withdrawn.

"Our troops have done their job. It's long past time to bring them home," said Rep. Chip Shields, D-Portland, chief sponsor of the measure.

The resolution was opposed by most of the chamber's Republicans, who argued that it would have no practical effect but could undermine morale among U.S. troops by making them think people back home don't support them.

"It's my fear that we will send them the wrong message," said Republican Rep. Kim Thatcher of Salem.

But the measure was endorsed on a 33-25 vote after Shields and other supporters said it was a legitimate way for the Legislature to "stand by" troops and their families by bringing troops home as soon as possible.

A list maintained by Gov. Ted Kulongoski's office names 82 people from Oregon or with close Oregon ties who have died in Iraq or Afghanistan.

An opponent of the resolution, Rep. Gene Whisnant, R-Sunriver, spent 10 minutes reading names from the list as he argued that the Legislature should show its support for Oregon troops by rejecting the withdrawal resolution.

Whisnant was interrupted briefly when an anti-war activist in the upper House gallery began shouting.

"How dare you use the name of someone you don't know to justify your political agenda," Leah Bolger of Corvallis yelled before House Speaker Jeff Merkley banged his gavel and asked Bolger to remain silent.

Oregon is one of 29 states where similar measures opposing President Bush's "troop surge" in Iraq have been introduced this year, according to Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, a national coalition.

"State legislators are taking their constituents' concerns seriously," said coalition spokesman Moira Mack. "The war in Iraq is the most important issue facing the country right now."

Among the three Republicans who voted in favor of the resolution was Rep. Brian Boquist of Dallas, a U.S. Army reservist who served as deputy commander of special forces in Iraq in 2004.

Boquist said the U.S. needs to devote its resources to the war on terror, not on a failed mission to stabilize Iraq.

"We're wasting time and wasting resources in Iraq," he said. "It's time to track down those responsible for (the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks) and kill them."