Cord Byrd: “But it is incomplete--incomplete because we cannot possibly claim to have truly provided for our Nation's security until…”

“But it is incomplete--incomplete because we cannot possibly claim to have truly provided for our Nation's security until we have addressed the situation in Iraq. It is now more than 4 years since President Bush declared the mission in Iraq has been accomplished. Since "mission accomplished," more than 3,400 U.S. soldiers have died, died in Iraq. A sectarian civil war is now deeply entrenched, deeply entrenched and raging. The political compromises that for years we have been promised by the Iraqis seem to be more distant than ever. Civilians are dying in ever greater numbers, and every day more American troops are hurled into the crossfire. It is time, yes, far past time, for the Congress--that is us--to have a real debate about this war and about where our national security interests ultimately lie.”