Frank Lautenberg: “Nothing could be more poignant, as we view what has taken place in Iraq, than the bravado that led us into the battle…”

“Nothing could be more poignant, as we view what has taken place in Iraq, than the bravado that led us into the battle and the boastful statements that were made, such as 'mission accomplished.' What the mission accomplished was, was to get a picture that could be used in an election campaign. That was the mission that was accomplished. People thought the President was talking about something else, and he did say the worst is behind us. It is a terrible memory for us to conjure up while people are dying in quantities hardly ever dreamed about, far more casualties in this war where we have 130,000 people in Iraq than when we had 540,000 people in the first gulf war because there were enough of them to protect one another; there were enough of them to get the job done quickly and effectively. This week is the anniversary of the photo on the bridge of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. Photo on the bridge--that is the memory that is going to be conveyed out there.”