John Kerry: Four Years and $19 Billion Later, Iraqi Security Training "Disaster"

"$19 billion dollars doesn't buy much 'standing up'"

06/27/2007 -- WASHINGTON D.C. – Sen. John Kerry issued the following statement today, in response to a new bi-partisan Congressional report, which showed that the Pentagon spent more than $19 billion to train Iraqi security, yet the forces are still incapable of maintaining order in that country.

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“Four years and $19 billion dollars later, there’s pathetically little of the overhyped and overspun ‘standing up’ of Iraqi security forces to show for our investment. The massive waste and lack of progress is yet another example of how the Administration’s mistakes and misjudgments have created a disaster in Iraq,” Kerry said.

“It’s obvious from this new report that the Administration cannot be counted on to get it right or tell it straight. I intend to work closely with my colleagues in coming weeks, as the Senate reviews the Department of Defense budget, to see what steps we can take to end this waste. Blank check after blank check has only driven us deeper into the red.”

Source: Senator John Kerry