Joe Baca: “As a veteran I stand behind our troops, and I ask everyone to get together in the form of solidarity. Mr. Speaker…”

“As a veteran I stand behind our troops, and I ask everyone to get together in the form of solidarity. Mr. Speaker, several months ago, when we voted on the President's Iraq resolution, we all hoped war could be avoided, even though most of us believed deep down that it was a forgone conclusion. It was just a matter of when. Well, the day we all knew would come upon us. As we speak the U.S. Army 7th Calvary has engaged the enemy inside Iraq. This is a difficult dilemma. We hope and pray that Saddam does not have any weapons of mass destruction to use against our troops. My faith teaches me that only those who are without sin should cast the first stone in conflict. We have cast the stone, and we'll just have to wait and see what the effects will be. However, Mr. Speaker, none of that is important anymore. The most important issue we face as any war begins is how we are going to support our brave men and women in uniform. No matter how we feel about the prospect of waging war at this time, we must stand solidly behind our troops. Hundreds of soldiers from my district have already deployed. Thousands more from the Inland Empire and across California are heading to the Persian Gulf region. Even more Californians are serving our Nation in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines all over the World. It saddens me to think that some of these men and women will not return home to their mothers and fathers, to their sons and daughters, to their husbands and wives.”