Senator Biden Issues Statement on Five-Year Anniversary of Iraq War

“Treading Water in Iraq Does Not Equal Progress”

March 18, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) issued the following statement on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War:

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“As we mark the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War tomorrow, we should ask two questions: Are we any closer than we were a year ago – when the surge began – to ending the war? And what is the Administration’s plan to do so? Those are the questions most Americans want answered, but this Administration cannot or will not answer. The surge has helped bring violence down, but when it ends, we will be right back where we started: with 130,000 troops in Iraq, with the country no nearer to self-sustaining stability and with no end in sight for America.

“Treading water in Iraq does not equal progress and we can’t keep doing it without exhausting ourselves. When Congress returns, the Foreign Relations Committee will hold two weeks of hearings to look at where we go next and how we can start to leave Iraq without leaving chaos behind.”

Source: Senator Joe Biden