Daniel Akaka: “we are now in our fifth year of this conflict in Iraq, and throughout that time I have met with commanders of our Armed…”

“we are now in our fifth year of this conflict in Iraq, and throughout that time I have met with commanders of our Armed Forces, listened to their experiences and recommendations, and after much consideration I have come to the conclusion that we are not on the right path. While some of my colleagues believe that we should support President George W. Bush, who continues to make decisions that place our men and women in the Armed Forces in harm's way, I disagree. The past few months have been among the deadliest for our military personnel. We have seen 79 U.S. soldiers killed in February, 82 in March, and 85 so far this month. To the more than 3,300 U.S. soldiers that have been killed and the over 24,000 wounded since the conflict began, to our men and women in the Armed Forces and their families who are valiantly serving our country and to the American people, I say to all of you, we must change our course. To stay the course is to welcome disaster. Iraq lies like the proverbial clay pot broken in shards on the ground. It is shattered into the fragments of warring factions, clans, and religious groups. Afghanistan, still the center of the war on al-Qaida, is becoming progressively more dangerous as our attention remains focused on Iraq. Al-Qaida and the Taliban are rebuilding their forces and terrorists have extended their attacks to North Africa and Western Europe.”