More than four years ago - long before this Administration ordered the invasion of Iraq - I warned publicly that an invasion and occupation of that country would be a strategic blunder, that our troops would become terrorist targets, and that there was no exit strategy because the people who were doing this did not intend to leave.
It gives me no great pleasure today to be saying "I told you so." It pains me as an American that our casualties are again escalating while this President and his followers are still incapable of bringing forward an intelligent, common-sense approach to ending our involvement there. And to be blunt, the very people who are responsible for having brought us to this situation, such as my opponent here in Virginia, are avoiding even discussing it in detail on the campaign trail.
With the right leadership, the situation in Iraq is solvable, in a way that will increase stability in the Middle East and reduce the threat of international terrorism. But the key word is leadership, which has been a scarce commodity among this Administration and its followers. Over the past several weeks a few realists in the Republican Party, such as Senator John Warner and former Secretary of State Jim Baker, have begun to make their voices heard. They are moving away from the fantasy world of this administration, toward real solutions. And it is gratifying to me that many of their comments are similar to the proposals that I began making nearly two and a half years ago.
Since early 2004 I have advocated the same basic approach.
Full address
http://www.dnc.org/a/2006/10/diane_farrell_d_1.phplisten to his remarks
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