Steck Statement on 5th Anniversary of Iraq

Statement

Steck Statement on 5th Anniversary of Iraq

"Five years ago, this nation was misled into war on Iraq. However, the Bush Administration's statements on the war did not ring true to me, and its unilateralist approach to foreign policy was fundamentally flawed. Therefore, I was on record opposing the intervention in Iraq from the beginning and spoke out about this issue then as a member of the Albany County Legislature.

The Bush Administration's belief in changing the politics of a Third World country by force has been exposed as false and boastful. On May 2, 2003, President Bush landed aboard the USS Lincoln on a Navy S-3B Viking, proclaiming "Mission Accomplished." Today, it is crystal clear to a majority of Americans that we should not be in Iraq anymore. Our troops have been placed in the impossible position of occupying another country and refereeing between various factions involved in civil unrest.

To date, nearly 4,000 U.S. service men and women have been killed, and millions of Iraqis have been killed, are living as refugees in other countries, or have been displaced within Iraq. My heart goes out to both my fellow Americans and the Iraqis who have suffered and are suffering as a result of this war.

Close to $500 billion has been spent in Iraq and related conflicts. This has compromised the ability of our government to be effective on the home front.

Now, as the nation spirals deeper into recession, the Bush Administration is asking Congress for at least another $102 billion. I believe Congress should fund withdrawal from Iraq not continuation of this fruitless war without evidence that there is any light at the end of the tunnel. We must have the courage to end this unjustified war and let the Iraqi people be free to govern themselves and decide their own future.

We need a Congress that will stand up for what's right: ending this war and bringing the international criminal Osama bin Laden, and his organization, to justice."

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