Cord Byrd: “4 years ago, I stood in this very spot and warned against an ill-advised invasion of Iraq. Today, the situation in Iraq…”

“4 years ago, I stood in this very spot and warned against an ill-advised invasion of Iraq. Today, the situation in Iraq has spiraled out of control, into a bloody, deadly, sectarian civil war. Yet the President and his team continue to hold fast to their ``stay the course'' nonsense. While they do, thousands of brave young Americans place their lives in jeopardy every day. That reality is one this Nation and the world did not have to experience. It is a tragic reality, brought on by a war of choice and an occupation that has yielded neither stability nor reconciliation. Four years ago today, the President landed on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln to declare, ``Mission accomplished.'' Four years ago-- it feels like an age. For thousands of our soldiers and their families, and likely for the Iraqi people, it feels like a lifetime. How wrong our President was then, and how wrong our President continues to be today. Ralph Waldo Emerson said: A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. No matter how many times the President wishes it were so, peace in Iraq will not be found at the barrel of an American gun. No matter how hard the President hopes that it will happen, sectarian violence will not be quelled with U.S. forces occupying the Iraqi nation.”