Joe Lieberman: “The progress in Iraq has been stunning. The war is not over, but it is within sight. I think we can safely say this…”

“The progress in Iraq has been stunning. The war is not over, but it is within sight. I think we can safely say this looks like the beginning of the end. Saddam Hussein, that brutal and murderous dictator, is nowhere to be seen. Baghdad has been reclaimed, and the Iraqi people are being liberated. But let us not for a moment forget the service and sacrifice of our brave and brilliant men and women in uniform, which brought us to this day. And let us not for a moment forget that in the midst of all this, while the Iraqi people are being freed, men and women of the American military remain prisoners--prisoners of the remnants of Saddam's brutal regime. We all recall the heroic rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch last week. One soldier rescued, and so much joy. But that joy and the rush of events in Iraq cannot overshadow the danger that continues to face others like her who were not so fortunate to be saved from captivity. We cannot and we shall not forget any missing American or POW, not for a moment. And, whether this regime is dying or dead, we cannot and will not allow the brutal treatment of American prisoners at the hands of Saddam's regime to go unchallenged. One way to do that, is to have the American Government speak with a strong and unified voice against this abhorrent behavior. That is precisely what the resolution before us, S. Con. Res. 31, does.”