House Republican leader Boehner needles Iraq surge critics during Wis. talk to American Legion
By APTuesday, August 31, 2010
House Republican leader needles Iraq surge critics
MILWAUKEE — House Republican leader John Boehner says lawmakers who criticized the Iraq combat surge are now proudly claiming credit for its success.
Boehner spoke to the American Legion’s national convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday, hours before President Barack Obama was scheduled to mark the end of combat operations in Iraq in a speech from the Oval Office.
Boehner cautioned Iraq will remain a target for the United States’ enemies. He says he wants Obama to discuss what the country would do if progress achieved so far there is threatened.
The GOP leader needled critics who said the surge would never work. He also thanked Obama for setting aside the “rhetoric.”
Combat in Iraq has left more than 4,400 U.S. troops dead and thousands more wounded.
