Bill Nelson: “instead of this body appointing an accusatory finger across the partisan aisle, what this body ought to be doing is…”

“instead of this body appointing an accusatory finger across the partisan aisle, what this body ought to be doing is invoking the old principle that in the old days, at the water's edge, partisanship stops. We have seen on both sides of the aisle too much of that partisanship, particularly in matters of war and peace. There is a genuine disagreement not only over the conduct of the war but the very fact that we are in this war to begin with. We can't do anything about that now. We were given false information, massaged information, misinformation that caused us to enter this war and, after a quick and very decisive and very impressive victory, then set about the process of an occupation that was fraught with error and misinformation. But that was then, and now is now. What is in the interest of the United States? Clearly it is to stabilize Iraq, if that is possible. A distinguished group of Americans, five Republicans and five Democrats in the Iraq study commission, unanimously came together last winter and said what they thought would be the plan, the best way we could stabilize Iraq, led by an eminent and distinguished Republican, former Secretary of State and a former Chief of Staff in the White House to President Reagan, Jim Baker, and led by the longtime and distinguished and equally as respected former Congressman and former chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in the House, Lee Hamilton.”