Washington, DC - On July 4, 1776, we claimed our independence from Britain and Democracy was born.  With vision and courage, our Founders stated to the world: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." These were revolutionary concepts, and they fundamentally changed the course of human history.

 

Today we are living through another period of profound and historic change:  Our country is helping the Iraqi people establish a democratic government in a country that has never known Democracy.  This was not the intended path that led us to this war – we were told by the Administration and the intelligence community that we would find chemical and biological weapons, links to terrorism, and evidence of an attempt to acquire a nuclear weapon – but it is the war we are in now and we must support our troops. 

 

Leading up to the war in Iraq, Colin Powell warned President Bush “we break it, we own it.”  I believe that is absolutely true.  Leaving Iraq immediately would result in a civil war, an unprotected border with Iran, and general chaos in the region.  We went to war under the auspices that it was a war for our national security, and while the intelligence we based that on was incorrect, it has always been clear that stability in the region is in our national interest and that cannot happen if Iraq is not stable.

 

That being said, I do not believe that the Administration’s “stay the course” policy will help us achieve stability.  Our troops were sent in under-equipped, and the Administration was unprepared for what needed to happen to secure the country.  It took pressure from Congress for the Administration to provide all our troops in theatre with body armor, and Congress has again had to act to ensure that the vehicles in Iraq have Improvised Explosive Device (IED) jamming devices.  These issues should have been addressed in the war-planning phase by the Administration prior to the invasion, but in their rush to go to war it was not.
 
I will be traveling to Iraq and Afghanistan over the week of July 4 to visit with troops and gain information on what is occurring on the ground, and I look forward to hearing from our troops about their views on the operations in those countries.  I have never doubted the ability of the men and women of our Armed Forces -- we saw what they were capable of in the first days of the war when they stormed Iraq and Baghdad within days, overwhelming the Iraqi forces.  The accomplishments we have seen in Iraq such as capturing Saddam and killing Al-Zarqawi can be attributed directly to the troops’ discipline and persistence in fighting the insurgency.

 

In 1776, brave men stated their independence and were willing to take up arms to fight for the creation of a free and democratic nation.  Today the men and women of our military have taken up arms again to bring democracy to the Iraqi people.  As we celebrate our freedom on this Independence Day, let’s take the time to remember those who are fighting to bring freedom to a people who have never known it.

 

God bless our troops, and God bless America!

 

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