Bob Menendez: “3 weeks ago, I began a series of speeches on the price America is paying for the failed war in Iraq, and I wish to…”

“3 weeks ago, I began a series of speeches on the price America is paying for the failed war in Iraq, and I wish to continue today. The number of American service men and women killed in action has risen to 3,855, and with every death of a husband or wife, a son or daughter, a mom or dad, the suffering of a family soars to that place where numbers do not matter, to that place where pain is beyond infinite. I have spoken about what the war has cost us financially. Since the war began more than 4 long years ago, we have spent over $455 billion. Over the long run, it will cost almost $2 trillion. Again, those are not just numbers, those were cargo scanners that could have been installed at our ports, safer bridges that could have been built, lifesaving cancer research that could have been done, children who could have been educated, lives that could have been saved--a world of possibilities that passed by us all. I have tried to help us all imagine what we are giving up by failing to awaken ourselves from the living nightmare that is the war in Iraq. Today, I wish to talk about the people who have given so much, people who will be paying for this war for the rest of their lives--our veterans and their families.”