Donald M. Payne: “over this past weekend, five more American soldiers were killed in Iraq, bringing the number killed in April to over 100…”

“over this past weekend, five more American soldiers were killed in Iraq, bringing the number killed in April to over 100 U.S. soldiers. It was the deadliest month for American soldiers this year. Sadly, the total number of Americans killed now stands at 3,351, along with thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women and children. The realities on the ground that our brave soldiers continue to face day in and day out stand in stark contrast to President Bush's pronouncement 4 years ago that major combat operations in Iraq were over. If major operations were over 4 years ago, what have our troops been fighting the last 4 years? If indeed our mission was accomplished 4 years ago, as the banner behind the President on that aircraft carrier proclaimed, what are American troops still doing in Iraq? If the President truly wants to bring our mission to a just conclusion, he should work with Congress instead of simply vetoing our funding bill as he did. It's now up to the President to decide if he will support accountability for Iraqis, benchmarks for success, and new direction in Iraq, for we cannot stay this course.”