Barack Obama: Obama Statement on The Declassified National Intelligence Estimate

July 17, 2007 -- CHICAGO, IL - Senator Barack Obama today released the following statement on the Declassified National Intelligence Estimate.

"This morning's declassified NIE is a chilling reminder of what we have feared all along.

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After almost six years, awesome sacrifices by our brave men and women in uniform, and hundreds of billions of dollars spent, we are no safer than we were on 9/11.

This is a consequence of waging a misguided war in Iraq that should never have been authorized, and failing to seize the opportunity to do lasting harm to the extremist networks that pose a direct threat to our homeland.

It is deeply troubling that more that nearly six years after 9/11, al Qaeda maintains a safe haven, an intact leadership, and the capability to plan further attacks.

It is time to act to correct those mistakes, and the first step is to get out of Iraq, because you can't win a war when you're on the wrong battlefield."

Source: Barack Obama campaign