From Senator Edward M. Kennedy Online Office, February 21, 2006: http://kennedy.senate.gov/index_high.html

An Agenda on Foreign Policy and Defense

We need a real plan from the administration on winning the peace

Many, many Americans disagreed with President Bush’s decision to go to war in Iraq, and every day, the evidence becomes more and more compelling that they were right.

 Saddam Hussein was an evil dictator, but he was not an imminent threat to our national security that justified going to war. 

 The Administration’s rationale for war was false.  There was no connection between Saddam and the terrorist attacks of 9/11.  There was no persuasive connection to Al Qaeda.  Saddam had no arsenals of weapons of mass destruction.  Saddam was not close to acquiring nuclear weapons.

 The Administration’s rationale for war was built on a quicksand of manipulated intelligence.  We knew the military victory would be quick, but we had no effective plan to win the peace.  In fact, the war in Iraq has made the war on terrorism harder, not easier, to win. 

 In addition, because of the war in Iraq, our armed forces are over-stretched, over-stressed, and over-extended.  Members of the National Guard and Reserve are being kept longer on active duty, away from their families, jobs, and communities.  By the end of 2004, eight of our ten active Army divisions will have been deployed for at least a year in the Middle East in support of Afghanistan or Iraq.

 America cannot cut and run from Iraq today.  It is essential to our national security that we work with other countries to create a stable government in Iraq and prevent it from becoming a breeding ground for terrorists.

 We also have an obligation to see that our servicemen and women have the equipment they need to carry out their mission as safely as possible.  It’s shameful that our soldiers do not have adequate body armor, and are being sent on patrol in humvees that have no armored protection. 

 It is urgent for us to obtain support from the United Nations and other countries for the reconstruction of Iraq.  Effective additional steps by the Bush Administration are clearly needed to protect our security and achieve the safe return of our servicemen and women from Iraq. 

 I intend to continue to speak out in the weeks ahead on all aspects of this very important challenge facing our country.