Joe Lieberman: “When we send a message of irresolution, it does not support our troops. When we renounce their mission, it does not…”

“When we send a message of irresolution, it does not support our troops. When we renounce their mission, it does not support our troops. We heard recently in the Senate Armed Services Committee from GEN Jack Keane, a former chief of staff of the U.S. Army, who said of a resolution like this one: It's just not helpful . . . What the enemy sees is an erosion of the political and moral will of the American people . . . Our soldiers are Americans first. They clearly understand there's a political process in this country that they clearly support . . . But at the end of the day, they are going to go out and do a tough mission, and I certainly would like to see them supported in that mission as opposed to declaring nonsupport. . . . I agree. Everyone here knows the American people are frustrated about the lack of progress in Iraq. Everyone here shares that frustration. And as elected representatives of the people, everyone here feels pressure to give expression to that frustration. This is not a new challenge. It is one that every democracy in every long war has had to confront. Nearly a century and a half ago, an American President wrestled with just this problem. It was in the midst of a terrible war, a civil war in which hundreds of thousands of Americans were fighting and dying to secure the freedom of millions long and cruelly denied it. ``We here highly resolve,'' that was Lincoln's message at Gettysburg. It was a message of resolution.”