Bart Stupak: “I come before you tonight after listening to the presentations that have been taking place all day, not only as a Member…”

“I come before you tonight after listening to the presentations that have been taking place all day, not only as a Member of this body but as a parent who has lost a child. My son, B.J., who passed away a little more than 6 years ago, would have turned 24 tomorrow. Every time I learn about loss of life in Iraq, another son or daughter, mother or father, brother or sister, I can't help but think about my son B.J. and the profound pain and loss that will remain with us for the rest of our lives. That intense pain that we feel over the loss of B.J. is being felt every day by those families here in America who have suffered a loss in Iraq, and that is one of the reasons why I oppose this war and one of the reasons why I plan to oppose this resolution. But one of the other reasons I oppose this resolution deals with honesty and truth. Boake Carter is credited with saying that ``in time of war, the first casualty is truth.'' Mr. Carter's statement is applicable to the resolution before us today. Like the one-sided resolution presented to the House last December, the Republican majority has refused to allow a true debate on the war on Iraq. The truth is 2,500 servicemen and -women have died in Iraq. The truth is the so-called coalition countries, including Great Britain, are drawing down their troops in Iraq.…”