Speaker of the House John Boehner (R., Ohio) said it was time for President Obama to recognize the United States' "vital national interest in Iraq" and re-engage there, in order to not let the progress made in Iraq be in vain.
"A status of forces agreement with Iraq should have been agreed to, and this administration failed to deliver," he said. "The United Sates has and will continue to have a vital national interest in Iraq. We must maintain a long-term commitment to a successful outcome there, and it's time that the president recognized this and get engaged."
Full statement:
JOHN BOEHNER: And lastly, I'd like to address the ongoing threat of al-Qaida in Iraq. Precious blood was spilled and national treasure was expended helping Iraqis remove a brutal dictator and repelling terrorist elements determined to stamp out human freedom and dignity. That progress is now threatened. In the case of Fallujah, it's been reversed. A status of forces agreement with Iraq should have been agreed to, and this administration failed to deliver.
Starting with the president delegating his responsibilities to the vice president, the administration has chosen to spend much of its time and energy trying to explain why having terrorists holding key terrain in the Middle East is not the president's problem. The United States has and will continue to have a vital national interest in Iraq. We must maintain a long-term commitment to a successful outcome there, and it's time that the president recognized this and get engaged.