Frank Pallone: “I did not support the resolution authorizing the Iraq war, and I continue to believe it was a mistake, and that we…”

“I did not support the resolution authorizing the Iraq war, and I continue to believe it was a mistake, and that we should redeploy our armed forces out of Iraq as quickly as possible. Needless to say, I adamantly oppose the President's latest proposal to escalate the war, the so-called ``surge.'' Now, part of my concern over the Iraq war is that it continues to distract U.S. policy, both foreign and domestic, from more important concerns. The threat of international terrorism is real, and it came home to us vividly after 9/11, but the focal point of our war against terrorism should be Afghanistan, not Iraq. While our soldiers continue to die in Baghdad and we spend hundreds of billions of dollars in Iraq, we are neglecting the situation in Afghanistan and its environs, particularly Pakistan, where bin Laden, al Qaeda and the Taliban grow stronger every day.”