FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 31, 2006

CONTACT: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider 202-226-7616

Pelosi: ‘Iraq War Is Weakening Our Ability to Fight the War on Terrorism’

Washington, D.C. – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on President Bush’s speech in Salt Lake City to the American Legion:

“Today, once again, President Bush demonstrated that he is in denial about his historic blunder in Iraq.  We must win the war on terror, but the war in Iraq is the wrong war.  Today, just as it has since the war began, Iraq is weakening our ability to fight the war on terrorism.

“The strain that the Iraq war has put on our military has crippled our ability to prosecute the war on terrorism and has dangerously limited our ability to respond to real challenges to our national security around the world. 

“Mr. Bush’s failed war in Iraq comes at a huge cost, first and foremost in human lives, and at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars.  It has also had a tremendous cost to reputation, damaging our ability to engage other countries in diplomacy to make the world safer.

“Democrats are proposing a new direction with policies that are tough and smart that will make our country safer, our military stronger, and the world more stable.”

“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ”

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi