On the recordJune 18, 2014
Mr. President, I rise today not only as a Senator from Montana, but as a veteran of the long and difficult war in Iraq. Like most Americans, the increasing instability in Iraq and the disintegration of the country along sectarian boundaries has me deeply concerned. This past weekend when I was home in Montana and talking to Montanans, they were very concerned about what was going on in Iraq; they express their interest to me about Iraq on a regular basis. The heinous advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, their systematic execution of Iraqi soldiers, and the murder of innocent civilians gives pause to people everywhere. I stand here today as a veteran and as a father whose son has been deployed multiple times. I wish to recognize my son today, who is with me today. I ask that my son Michael stand and be recognized. We fought in the war that Washington began based on false information--a war that ended and from which we must move on. I led an infantry battalion--the 1st Battalion, 163rd Infantry--into combat, which was made up of more than 100 of Montana's finest. Our area of operation was from just north of Tikrit--from Baiji--to Kirkuk, which is the very same area being fought over today. It was late 2004 and the country had fallen into a bitter sectarian conflict--a conflict that unfolded after the dismantling of the Baathist-led army and fueled by ancient divides between the Shias and Sunnis. Those same disputes are again boiling over in Iraq today.…





