WASHINGTON - Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) issued the following statement today after news reports indicated that over 2,000 American service men and women have been killed in Iraq:

"Today marks yet another sad and tragic milestone in the war in Iraq. Two thousand American soldiers have been killed in the war in Iraq. We must end this war. If we do not, this will not be the last sad milestone for our nation.

"How many more of America's finest have to die for this war before the politicians in Washington realize that the quagmire in Iraq cannot be solved by military force and that the our occupation is counterproductive.

"Iraq has been a colossal failure of American foreign policy. From the beginning this Administration has waged a campaign of misinformation and has continued to deliberately mislead the public about the realities on the ground. The truth is that Iraq can never be free, and the insurgency will not end, until we end our occupation and allow the decisions about the future of Iraq to be made in Baghdad, not Washington.

"As Americans we mourn the loss of every American life, and particularly those who give the ultimate sacrifice in service to this nation. We mourn the first causality as much as the two thousandth causality. Now more than ever we need to support the troops. Support the troops by bringing them home."

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