U.S. Senator Ken Salazar Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees 2300 15^th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
For Immediate Release Thursday, May 1, 2008		CONTACT: Stephanie Valencia – 202-494- 8790 Cody Wertz – 303-350-0032
Senator Salazar Statement on 5th Anniversary of Mission Accomplished WASHINGTON, DC - United States Senator Ken Salazar released the following statement today regarding the fifth anniversary of President Bush’s speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln beneath the “Mission Accomplished” banner. “Today, five years into the war in Iraq, we are still far away from a mission accomplished. Our troops have been performing admirably in extremely difficult circumstances. They have been tasked with calming streets that are wrought with sectarian conflict and age-old rivalries. Many are on second, third or fourth deployments – often up to 15 months – and the operational tempo, our military leaders tell us, is breaking the force and is simply not sustainable. Our troops have done their job. The Iraqi government and, truth be told, the Administration, have not done theirs. “I am more convinced than ever that we must change our military mission in Iraq from one of combat to one of support. We must forge a political and diplomatic strategy for Iraq and we must place the responsibility for Iraq’s future, and for the security of its citizens, in the hands of its government. Only then will Iraqi politicians take the steps necessary to achieve political reconciliation and make real progress towards peace. “The men and women of our armed forces deserve a policy that is worthy of their bravery and their sacrifice. After more than five years of this conflict, it is time for us to hold the Iraqis accountable for their own future and to begin the responsible redeployment of our troops from Iraq so that we can rebuild our military and strengthen our strategic posture as we confront terrorist and extremist threats around the world.” ###