The US occupation in Iraq has left American soldiers unprepared and vulnerable, the country degenerating into chaos, and the Iraqi people embittered and hostile. Now, the President is asking Congress for a staggering $87 billion blank check to fund more of the same. Until he takes strong steps to correct this failure, I don't think Congress should give him a cent.

President Bush needs to fire the team responsible, starting with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and transfer authority to the United Nations.

Please join me in telling Congress to hold on to our money until President Bush changes his team and changes his course in Iraq. You can send an email to your Member of Congress and sign the MoveOn.org petition.

* 155 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq since President Bush declared "Mission Accomplished." Since the beginning of the war, over 300 soldiers have given their lives, more than in any U.S. conflict in decades.

* There are 140,000 troops in the country now. According to General Tommy Franks, those levels won't be reduced "in the foreseeable future." "The Army is strained and stressed," said another general last week.

* The U.S. occupation of Iraq now costs about $1 billion a WEEK -- as much as the Federal Government spends on after school programs for the entire year. Those are just military costs -- not including any money for rebuilding in Iraq.

* Suicide attacks and bombings throughout Iraq are becoming a daily occurrence; they show no sign of slowing.

* Iraqis resent the U.S. occupation. The headline of a recent article in the New York Times is "Iraqis' Bitterness Is Called Bigger Threat Than Terror."

* No weapons of mass destruction have been found, nor have we seen any evidence of an active weapons development program.

* And there's no exit strategy: the Administration has yet to present a realistic plan for how the occupation of Iraq will end.

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