Giffords votes for legislation, sees need to focus on other threats

=WASHINGTON - On the day when the U.S. House of Representatives passed an Iraqi troop withdrawal bill, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said America's armed forces must concentrate its power on the growing terrorism threat in the world and not become bogged down in a civil war in Iraq.

While there are terrorists in Iraq, Giffords, D-Ariz., said Wednesday that they are less of a problem than places where threats are located or growing. "There is not a huge terrorist presence in Iraq," Giffords said during a telephone interview with Wick News Service.

She made her comments while waiting for the roll call vote in the House on the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health and Iraq Accountability Act - the bill commonly referred to as the Iraq supplemental. She voted for the act, which also provides funds to support the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan.

She also emphasized that the supplemental calls for a goal to start leaving Iraq later this year, with a deployment of combat troops by early next year.

American forces will remain engaged in Iraq to provide training and support to that nation's government, she said.

Giffords is more concerned about terrorism emanating from Iran and the potential problem North Korea may become, along with other threats, including the need to hunt and find Osama bin Laden in the Afghan region.

To say Democrats are not supporting the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines in Iraq ignores the reality that a conference committee report between the House and the Senate adds more money for the military, she said.

The multi-billion-dollar addition increases the President Bush's request from slightly more than $90 billion to $95.5 billion, she said.

The redeployment timeline establishes a goal for the Iraqi government to take on their own problem brought on by an ongoing civil war, Giffords said.

Sunni and Shiites have been battling each other for hundreds of years, and the violence in Iraq is created by the adherents of the two major sects, Giffords said.

The Iraq Study Group and a number of retired American generals have said other areas of the world are more dangerous to the United States, the congresswoman said. And, she said, America's armed forces are stretched beyond available resources and the continuing war in Iraq cannot be sustained.

Some U.S. political leaders are fighting in Iraq like it is a 20th century conflict, Giffords said. The surge does not appear to be working, and the cry to continue will only bleed the nation's forces and coffers, she added.

To critics of bill, who say leaving Iraq will harm morale and send the wrong message, Giffords said the brave men and women of the armed forces should be continued to be praised for doing their duty under trying and dangerous conditions.

The supplemental bill will provide resources to the front-line troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, "while also pushing the Iraqi people to take control of their nation and end the violence between Sunnis and Shiites," she said, adding she hopes President Bush will not veto the act.

If the bill is passed by the Senate, which is expected today, and the president vetoes it, Congress is not expected to have the votes to override the veto.