June 30, 2004:

At the end of the day, what will have changed in Iraq?

1) The Iraqi government will be led by a former CIA operative having been chosen by the discredited US appointed Iraqi Governing Council;

2) 160,000 foreign troops – made up mostly of Americans – will be on the ground to keep this government in power;

3) The overwhelming majority of Iraqis want the US military forces out of Iraq believing that they are an obstacle to their security – not a source of it;

4) The continued presence of large numbers of US troops in Iraq, defying the wishes of the Iraqi people, will continue to inflame the insurgency and make targets of our men and women in uniform;

5) Just as there was no plan for the military occupation of Iraq, there is no plan to systematically transfer responsibility for security to Iraqis;

6) There will not be one less US soldier in Iraq. There will continue to be no exit strategy for US troops, despite the recently enacted UN Security Council resolution that terminates authorization for all foreign troops in Iraqi by December, 2005;

7) US soldiers will continue to suffer the greatest military losses and US taxpayers will continue to be required to pay most of the bill. All Americans will continue to be in the dark on what the occupation will cost them;

8) The US military will continue to construct “enduring” military bases in Iraq, refusing to declare unequivocally that it will not retain a long-term military presence there;

9) The US presence in Iraq will continue to be a rallying cry and primary recruitment tool for terrorist organizations worldwide.