Frank Lautenberg: “No, I will not yield. I don't have enough time, I am sorry to say. Perhaps afterwards, the Senator from Oklahoma can use…”

“No, I will not yield. I don't have enough time, I am sorry to say. Perhaps afterwards, the Senator from Oklahoma can use his own time to have an exchange. Secretary Rumsfeld said the war would be short. He said, ``I doubt 6 months.'' More than 3 years later, we know how tragically wrong that assessment was. Additionally, Secretary Rumsfeld was also way off on the cost of the war. He said it would cost no more than $100 billion. But the staggering reality is that it has cost $320 billion thus far, and we expect it will get close to half a trillion dollars before this year is over. Now we are experiencing a crisis in military recruiting. But about that, Secretary Rumsfeld is in denial. Whether in public or in private, he claims that recruiting is fine. Well, it is not. Here is the reality: The Army National Guard and Reserve are falling well short of their goals, and the only reason other branches are meeting goals is because the Pentagon has reduced the target numbers. Eight retired generals have come forward to say what many in the military have been thinking for years, and that is: It is time for a change at the top as well as the recovery of our people back home. One of the generals, General Eaton, who served in Iraq, said the following about Secretary Rumsfeld: In sum, he has shown himself incompetent strategically, operationally, and tactically, and is far more than anyone else responsible for what has happened to our important mission in Iraq. Mr.…”