Leahy Comments on the President's Announcement on Ending the War in Iraq

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following are the comments of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on the President's announcement of the total withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of this year:

"I was pleased to hear President Obama announce that our troops will finally come home, by the end of this year. Our two countries need to finally and fully turn the page on this costly and unnecessary war.

"The plan to finally end this misbegotten war is bittersweet news.  From the beginning, this war was a matter of choice - a poor choice - and not necessity.  Our troops and their families have shouldered the heaviest burdens of this war, and our small state has endured more than its share of sorrow and loss and separation.  We owe these brave men and women a debt of gratitude that we can never fully repay, but honoring our veterans and tending to their needs is a start.

"The Iraq war's enormous costs also have sowed a lost decade of neglect here at home, draining away investments that we need in our own country.  It is way past time to return our attention to rebuilding America."

SOURCE Office of U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy