March 18, 2008

Las Vegas, NV— Nevada Senator Harry Reid made the following statement today ahead of the fifth anniversary of start of the war in Iraq:

“As we mark this week the start of the sixth year of the Iraq war, we are proud of the warriors who have fought hard to reduce violence in Iraq in recent months.  But America is not secure and the costs and consequences of the war continue to mount. Al Qaeda is stronger than it has ever been since 9/11, Osama bin Laden remains at large, the readiness of our Army and Marine Corps is at its lowest levels since Vietnam, and trends in Afghanistan are deeply troubling. And at the end of the surge this summer, more troops will be in Iraq than before the surge began – that is not what Americans were led to believe would be the result of this tactic.

 “America still has not heard from this Administration – or from their Republican allies – a winning plan for achieving the political solution we need in Iraq and hastening the day when our troops can redeploy home. Instead, we hear reckless statements about staying in Iraq for 100 years. 

“The military has done its job; it is time for this Administration and Iraq’s political leaders to do theirs.”