Shelley Berkley: “the Duelfer report submitted by the chief U.S. weapons inspector to Congress yesterday confirms what we already knew…”

“the Duelfer report submitted by the chief U.S. weapons inspector to Congress yesterday confirms what we already knew: Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction, no nuclear weapons, no weapons programs. There is no evidence that Saddam Hussein had a plan to recruit or the capabilities to rebuild his arsenal of chemical and biological weapons. Yet, George Bush, Dick Cheney continue to mislead the American people by ignoring the facts and trying to justify the invasion of a nation that we now know posed no imminent threat to the United States. It is bad enough that we went to war based on the worst intelligence in this Nation's history. What is shameful and unforgivable is that the President who led us into this unnecessary war refuses to acknowledge our profound mistake and take responsibility for it. The smirk, the swagger, the unbending stubbornness of this President has worn thin in the face of the reality of what is going on on the ground in Iraq. It is time that we elect a President with true leadership characteristics who will not lie to the American people and who can restore the respect and honor we once enjoyed in the world community.”