$70 Billion More for Iraq Proves That Incompetence Has a Cost

Pelosi: $70 Billion More for Iraq Proves That Incompetence Has a Cost

Washington, D.C. - House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today about news reports that the Bush Administration will ask for an additional $70 billion in emergency funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan:

"News that President Bush has concluded that taxpayers will have to pay an additional $70 billion is a costly reminder that the war in Iraq has been and will continue to be much more expensive and last far longer than the Administration originally predicted.

"Many of these additional billions are the result of the Administration's poor planning for the aftermath of the fall of Saddam Hussein. Incompetence has a cost. The bills are fast coming due for failing to secure supplies of high explosives, for neglecting to assemble an international coalition capable of adequately sharing the burdens of war, and for stretching our troops and their equipment to the breaking point.

"Sadly, no amount of supplemental funding will be able to compensate for the tremendous human cost of these mistakes - in lives lost, wounds suffered, and families shattered. This war has been a hideous mistake that has diminished our reputation in the world and has not made America safer."