Kay Hagan on 5th Anniversary of "Mission Accomplished"

Press Release

Today, on the 5th anniversary of President Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, where he declared major combat operations complete in Iraq, State Senator and U.S. Senate Candidate Kay Hagan (D-Guilford) issued the following statement regarding our continued involvement in Iraq.

"The decision to invade Iraq lacking a plan, without proper troop levels, and short on the equipment necessary to keep our soldiers safe was mismanagement of the highest order and has left us with no easy solutions. If the mission was accomplished five years ago, one may ask what we're still doing there now, with over 4,000 servicemen and women dead and more than $11 billion spent in Iraq each month.

"The simple fact is that the mission was not accomplished; it's still not, and staying in Iraq is making us less safe while straining our military and limiting our readiness. President George Bush and Elizabeth Dole were wrong five years ago, and they are wrong now. We need to get out of Iraq in a responsible way and put our eye back on the ball regarding Al Qaeda. We've increased our enemies and alienated our allies and our moral authority is in shambles. We need a surge in diplomacy to help re-establish our standing in the world and reaffirm our relationships with other countries.

"More than that, we need to elect leaders who don't invade countries without planning and stay there without an end."

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