10.21.11

Durbin Statement on President's Announcement of Troop Withdrawal from Iraq

[CHICAGO, IL] – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement today, after President Obama announced his decision to remove all American troops from Iraq by the end of this year:

 

“During the President’s announcement today, he stated what most Americans feel: we are so proud of what our troops have done.”

 

“We have made great sacrifices for the country of Iraq: $1 trillion has been spent on the war there, 4,400 American lives have been lost there, and many of our brave men and women have been injured there. They come home with the knowledge that they have deposed a dictator, and that they have given the people of Iraq an opportunity to chart their own future.”

 

“We paid a heavy price for it, and we hope that in the end, the nation of Iraq is going to be a friend to the United States and share our values.”

 

“The President has kept his word. He said that those troops are coming home, and they are.”

 

Senator Durbin is the Assistant Senate Majority Leader and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.