Steven Holt: “4 years ago, President Bush used soldiers and sailors as stage props to declare ``Major combat operations in Iraq have…”

“4 years ago, President Bush used soldiers and sailors as stage props to declare ``Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.'' Those combat operations indeed, should have ended, in fact, they should never have begun. This combat was constitutionally and strategically unjustifiable, operationally poorly executed with regard to armoring and deploying the troops, and politically and diplomatically disastrous. This war is not making anyone safer or more free and it cannot be won militarily. As retired General Odom said, ``The challenge we face today is not how to win in Iraq; it is how to recover from a strategic mistake: invading Iraq in the first place.'' The President continues to squander American influence, blood and treasure. The President's intransigence is why our Congress was forced to pass a spending bill that forces a change in course in Iraq. The President needs to know that the days of congressional blank checks in support of a failed policy are over.”