Congressman Kirk Continued to Push for Iraq War, Despite Average Intelligence

Statement

The following is a statement from U.S. Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias regarding Congressman Mark Kirk's role in continuing to push for the Iraq war even as members of his own party were raising concerns about the use of faulty intelligence.

"As an author of the Iraq war resolution and early booster of the war, Congressman Kirk continued to push the war even as members of his own party were calling for an investigation into the use of faulty intelligence.

"It appears that rather than joining the bipartisan group of Senators who decided the truth was more important than the politics of saving face, Congressman Kirk used his position in the Navy Reserve to falsely imply he had classified information that others did not, then he repeated another set of false statements aimed at misleading our nation into war.

"The bottom line: Congressman Kirk can't handle the truth. First came lies about his military record, and now there are lies about seeing 'direct' evidence of non-existent WMD. His lack of judgment and honesty helped spur a war that has cost thousands of American lives, squandered billions of taxpayer dollars, and adversely affected our ability to respond decisively to the true threat of al Qaeda in Afghanistan."

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