Washington, D.C. — Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement Thursdayday in response to President Bush’s remarks on the war in Iraq, in which he said he would accept benchmarks:
The President has long said he supports benchmarks; what he fails to accept is accountability for failing to meet those benchmarks. Benchmarks without consequences and enforcement are meaningless, a blank check. The American people, retired military commanders, and a growing bipartisan majority in both the House and the Senate reject giving President Bush a blank check to pursue the war in Iraq.