Sometimes even U.S. Senators, when they get old enough and established enough, dispense with the euphemisms and guardedness, and cut to the chase: Senator Byrd of West Virginia has been doing that regularly regarding the most criminally incompetent and dishonest President in living memory. Senator Byrd's latest is here; a few apt excerpts:
"[On May 1, 2003], the President announced unequivocally that 'major combat operations in Iraq have ended,' and that 'in the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.' Now, one year later, combat deaths are more than five times that of a year ago when our President celebrated 'mission accomplished.'
"Since that time, Iraq has become a veritable shooting gallery. This April has been the bloodiest month of the entire war, with more than 120 Americans killed. Young lives cut short in a pointless conflict and all the President can say is that it 'has been a tough couple of weeks.' A tough couple of weeks, indeed....
"[O]ur attack on Iraq has given Islamic militants a common cause and has fertilized the field for new recruits. The failures by the United States to secure the peace in Iraq has virtually guaranteed al Qaeda a fertile field of new recruits ready to sacrifice their lives to fight the American infidels. These extremists openly call for 'jihad', swear allegiance to bin Laden, and refer to the September 11 murderers as the 'magnificent 19.' According to intelligence sources, hundreds of young Muslims are answering terror recruitment calls with a resounding 'yes.'
"Amidst all this, the American people are asking themselves one central question...: are we starting to fully comprehend and regret the fury which has been unleashed by the unprovoked attack on Iraq?
"One year after the 'mission accomplished' speech, is America safer? We have not secured our homeland from terrifying threats of destruction. This President has sown divisions in our long-standing alliances. He has squandered our treasure in Iraq and put us deep in debt. Our brave soldiers are pinned down in Iraq while our enemies see the invincible American armor as penetrable by the sword of urban guerrilla warfare. No, America is not safer.
"One year ago, the President announced an end to major combat operations in Iraq. Yet, our troops are having their deployments extended in Iraq while our lines are stretched thin everywhere else. Billions upon billions of taxpayer dollars are being poured into Iraq. Seven hundred and twenty-two American lives have been lost. Unknown thousands of Iraqis are dead. Claims of WMD and death-dealing drones are discredited. And bin Laden is still on the loose....
"Mission accomplished? The mission in Iraq, as laid out by President Bush and Vice President Cheney, has failed. Even more disturbing, the disdain for international law, and the military bombast of this cocky, reckless Administration have tarnished the beacon of hope and freedom which the United States of America once offered to the world.
"How long will America continue to pay the price in blood and treasure of this President's war? How long must the best of our nation's military men and women be taken from their homes to fight this unnecessary war in Iraq? How long must our National Guardsmen be taken from their communities to fight and die in the hot sands in Iraq? How long must the fathers and mothers see their sons and daughters die in a far away land because of President Bush's doctrine of preemptive attack? How long must little children across our land go to sleep at night crying for a daddy or mother far away who may never come home?
"President Bush typified the Happy Warrior when he strutted across the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln a year ago this coming Saturday. He was in his glory that day. But on this May 1, we will remember the widows and the orphans that have been made by his fateful decision to attack Iraq; we will be aware of the tears that have been shed for his glory."
Yes, the widows and orphans. The widows and orphans. And the dead, the maimed, the crippled. Mission accomplished.
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