Thank you Senators Byrd, Kennedy, Leahy, Jeffords and all those who voted against the IWR [View all]

[cali]

With the fall of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city to an Al-Qaeda splinter group- as in totally fallen to them- and 500,000 refugees fleeing the region, we should not soon forget those who spoke out against the obscene rush to war led by the bushies, but with plenty of dem complicity.

Iraq remains an unfolding disaster, a humanitarian tragedy that rivals anything under Saddam Hussein.

And just as a reminder, 39% of House Dems voted for the IWR with 61% voting against it. In the Senate a MAJORITY of dem Senators voted for it- 56%.

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We have heard a lot of bellicose rhetoric, but what are the facts? I am not asking for 100 percent proof. But the Administration is asking Congress to make a decision to go to war based on conflicting statements, angry assertions, and assumptions based on speculation.

The Administration has also been vague, evasive and contradictory about its plans. Speaking here in Washington, the President and his advisors continue to say this issue is about disarming Saddam Hussein; that he has made no decision to use force. But the President paints a different picture when he is on the campaign trail, where he often talks about regime change. The Vice President said on national television that "The President's made it clear that the goal of the United States is regime change. He said that on many occasions."

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But if we have learned anything from history, it is that wars are unpredictable. They can trigger consequences that none of us would intend or expect. Is it fair to the American people, who have become accustomed to wars waged from 30,000 feet lasting a few weeks with few casualties, that we not discuss what else could happen? We could be involved in urban warfare where large numbers of our troops are killed.

And what of the critical issue of rebuilding a post-Saddam Iraq, about which the Administration has said virtually nothing? As I have said over and over again, it is one thing to topple a regime, but it is equally important, and sometimes far more difficult, to rebuild a country to prevent it from becoming engulfed by factional fighting.

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http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0210/S00095.htm