Unanimous Consent Agreement

Floor Speech

UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT -- (Senate - May 24, 2007)

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, in a few moments, the Senate will vote on a funding bill for the war in Iraq.

It is a historic vote and a very important one over which many of us have anguished.

I come to this decision with sadness and anger--sadness that we are in the fifth year of this war, a war that has lasted longer than World War II; sadness that we have lost 3,435 of our bravest, our American soldiers; sadness that over 25,000 of these soldiers have been injured, 8,000 or 9,000 grievously injured; sadness that we spent over $500 billion on a war that is second only to World War II in its cost to our Nation.

I also come to this floor with anger--anger that we do not have it in our power to make the will of the people of America the law of our land; anger that this President has vetoed a bipartisan bill carefully crafted to start bringing America's troops home; anger that we continue to bury our Nation's heroes every day while this Congress fails to muster the votes and some of the will to bring this war to an end.

In October of 2002, I stood on this Senate floor and joined 22 other Senators in casting my vote against this war. I felt then, and I believe today, that the invasion of Iraq was a serious mistake. I believe, as I stand here, it has been the most flawed and failed policy of any administration in our history.

That night when the vote was cast, this ornate Chamber was quiet. There was a lonely feel about it in the closing moments of the session. Those of us who lingered knew that regardless of what the White House said, this President would waste no time invading Iraq--regardless of the flawed intelligence, regardless of the lack of allies, regardless of a battle plan that left us in a position stronger after the invasion than before.

Today, 4 1/2 years later, 4 1/2 years after that vote and after this invasion, America is not safer, Iraq is in turmoil, and our position as a nation in this world has been compromised by this tragic decision by this administration.

I said at the time, and I will stand by it with my vote this evening, that though I loathe this decision to go to war, I will not take my feelings out on the troops who are in the field. I will continue to provide the resources they need to be trained and equipped and rested and ready to go into battle and to come home safely.

The debate will continue over this policy, but our soldiers should never be bargaining chips in this political debate. That is why I will vote this evening for this bill. But I want to make it clear with this vote that this bill is not the end of the debate on the war in Iraq. This debate will continue until our Nation comes to its senses, until our troops come home, and until we put this sorry chapter in our Nation's history behind us.

We have summoned our friends on the Republican side of the aisle to join us in this effort. Two have had the courage to step forward. I hope that as they reflect on this war and its cost to America that more Republicans will join us, that we will not have to wait until President Bush walks out of the White House to see an end to this war.

I pledge to you, Mr. President, this Senator and so many others will continue this debate beyond today, beyond tonight, every day until those troops come home safely. When we consider the Defense authorization bill in just a few weeks, we will return to this national debate. We will push for that timetable to bring these troops home. We will stand by our soldiers and show our devotion to them with our commitment to bringing them home safely, in an honorable way. The debate will continue until the soldiers are safe and until they are home.

I pray this will happen soon, happen before we lose more of these great men and women. This morning at my desk upstairs, I sat down and penned more notes to the grieving parents and spouses of fallen soldiers in my State of Illinois. I never dreamed 4 1/2 years ago that I would still be writing those notes today. It is a sad testimony to what this failed policy has cost our Nation.

With this vote tonight, the debate will not end; the debate will continue.

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