Charles Skelton: “tonight I wish to speak about Iraq, a separate and distinct war from the war on terrorism. Those who are terrorists with…”

“tonight I wish to speak about Iraq, a separate and distinct war from the war on terrorism. Those who are terrorists with their genesis in Afghanistan have a goal of creating a fundamentalist Muslim caliphate all across the Middle East. The insurgents are Baathists and Sunnis in Iraq who have as their goal a separate and distinct one of toppling the government that is there and creating their own. My friends on the other side of the aisle wish to confuse the battle against terrorists and the battle against insurgents in the country of Iraq. Tonight I wish to speak about Iraq because we are at a strategic crossroads as a Nation regarding that war. I wish to speak about the health of our military that is being drained by the war in Iraq. As a matter of fact, we are sustaining a battalion's worth of casualties every month wounded and killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The number of attacks on the American and allied forces is at the highest level since the insurgency began despite the increase of America combat operations and the introduction of some 40 new Iraq security forces and battalions. An ABC poll shows that 60 percent of Americans disapprove of the situation in Iraq. What is responsible for us arriving at this point? I have to say a lot of good words about our military, the finest we have ever had, they are doing a superb job. I am proud of them, and every American should be.…”