Lynn C. Woolsey: “for over 5 years, the administration has had a single-minded obsession with the occupation of Iraq. It has poured our…”

“for over 5 years, the administration has had a single-minded obsession with the occupation of Iraq. It has poured our troops and our treasure into a misguided foreign adventure, while ignoring our Nation's real security needs, both at home and abroad. I want to mention just a few of the ways that Iraq tunnel vision has blinded us to what we really need to be focusing on. First, the occupation of Iraq has weakened our efforts in Afghanistan. Secretary of Defense Gates has acknowledged that many Europeans do not support the NATO mission in Afghanistan because they oppose the American occupation of Iraq. He has said, and I quote ``Many (Europeans) have a problem with our involvement in Iraq and project that to Afghanistan.'' Second, the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves have said that the use of the Guard and Reserves in Iraq has seriously weakened their ability to protect us from threats to the homeland. These threats could include terrorist attacks using chemicals, biological and nuclear weapons. Third, just as our Guard and Reserves have been stretched too thin, our entire military has been stretched to the breaking point. Many of our most senior military leaders have been warning us for quite some time now that the occupation of Iraq has compromised our ability to respond to genuine threats elsewhere in the world. Fourth, our occupation of Iraq has strengthened the hand of the pro-nuclear regime in Iran.”