WASHINGTON - December 7 - Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) issued the following statement today on the President's latest "major" speech on Iraq:

"What we heard today from the President is not a plan. It is simply more of the same failed logic, failed policy and failed rhetoric that misled this nation into war, keeps us there and will ensure a US presence in Iraq for decades to come.

"The President assertion that reconstruction is going well is as about as honest and truthful as his false assertions that Iraq had WMD's or that Iraq was connected to al-Qeada. The facts are clear. The reality on the ground in Iraq does not match the President's false and misleading rosy assessments from Washington.

"The President cannot rewrite history to help is sagging poll numbers. Reconstruction, like the occupation, and the war policy itself has been a failure.

"For the President to cite progress in one, fairly small, Iraqi city-Najaf-as if it reflected what is happening all over Iraq, is the like the President claiming that certain aluminum tubes were definitely for making nuclear weapons. It is false and misleading.

"In the President's rosy assessment of Iraq not once did he mention Iraq's largest city. One-fifth of the population of Iraq lives in Baghdad. It is the capital of the country and the center of US military and political activity. It is also one of the most dangerous places in Iraq, and a place where reconstruction has been slow or non-existent. Just like the cherry picking of intelligence before the war, this Administration is cherry picking 'success' stories to once again mislead, change the debate and sell a skeptical public.

"The President must be honest with the American people. Things are going badly in Iraq, and our presence as an occupying force is counterproductive.

"Iraq will never be free, and the country will never be secure, as long as the Iraqi people continue to believe decisions about their future are made in Washington and not Baghdad.

"Instead of campaign style speeches and attacks on Democrats, the President's time would be better spent doing what a majority of the American people want him to do, planning to bring our troops home and ending the war in Iraq. That is what our troops and their family and loved ones deserve."

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