David Thomas: “I would like to continue to talk a bit about the most important item before us, the issue most of us have on our minds…”

“I would like to continue to talk a bit about the most important item before us, the issue most of us have on our minds, and that is our forces in Iraq, the efforts that are being made there and the reasons for those efforts. Certainly, at this time all of us are thinking about that. No one has ever said that this fight would be easy. Now that our troops are in Baghdad, we acknowledge that perhaps the toughest part of the war to disarm Saddam Hussein is likely still ahead of us. But so far Operation Iraqi Freedom certainly has been a tremendous success, and I think all of us share in pride at the actions of our men and women who are there and our leaders who have caused these actions to take place and have managed them. Our Operation Iraqi Freedom has been a tribute to the skills of the men and women in uniform and their leadership. ... We thank our stars that the losses so far have been relatively light. That, of course, doesn't make it any easier for the families who have suffered the losses.”