Lawmakers Weigh In On Iraq War Anniversary

Lawmakers commemorated the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war on Wednesday, their reactions as deeply divided as the two parties themselves on the ongoing conflict.

While all sides praised the valiant effort of the men and women in uniform, Democrats nearly across the board weighed in on the war’s toll, while Republicans called it a necessary struggle in the ongoing war on terror.

“The human cost of the war has been enormous, with nearly 4,000 lives lost and tens of thousands injured, many of them permanently,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). “The cost to our national security has been immense — our military is stretched thin and our reputation in the world is damaged. And now, the war in Iraq has become a threat to our economy, with its colossal cost to taxpayers taking us more deeply into debt.”

Republicans, of course, didn’t see it that way.

“In the five years that have passed since the start of this conflict, our men and women in uniform have heroically ousted a terrorist dictator, freed a nation, and planted the seeds for political reconciliation that will pave the way for the first democracy in a part of the world that needs it most,” said House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio.).
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