Sheldon Whitehouse: “American troops must come home from Iraq. Because more than 3,000 of our men and women have lost their lives, and tens…”

“American troops must come home from Iraq. Because more than 3,000 of our men and women have lost their lives, and tens of thousands more have returned home wounded, American troops must come home from Iraq. Because hundreds of billions of America's tax dollars have been sunk into the sands and marshes of Iraq, with much of that funding lost to waste, fraud, or abuse by those who have neither Iraq's nor America's best interests at heart, America's troops must come home from Iraq. Because the public records of this conflict--reflected in the many retired generals who have spoken out against the conduct of the war, and the many books and articles chronicling its planning and execution--reveal catastrophic mistakes and misjudgments that have raised serious questions about this administration's very capacity for leadership, American troops must come home from Iraq. Because that same administration misused and distorted intelligence, arguing that America should go to war on the basis of information that proved to be untrue or highly misleading, American troops must come home from Iraq. Because despite the millions of Americans who joined together to call for a new direction in Iraq, this President chose instead to escalate the conflict, American troops must come home from Iraq.”