WASHINGTON - December 14 - Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) issued the following statement today following the President's latest speech on Iraq to the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC:

"The United States went to war not because of faulty intelligence, but because the Bush Administration manipulated intelligence to mislead the public and to establish a pretext to attack a nation which did not attack us.

"The President, who has given a series of reasons for the war, in his latest in a series of speeches promoting the war, now says one thousand days after the invasion, it was about getting rid of Saddam Hussein. Not about WMD's, because there were none. Not about Iraq obtaining uranium from Niger. It did not. Not about Iraq's connection to 9/11, because there was none. Not about Iraq's connection to Al-Qeada and 9/11, because there was none.

"The President now says he is responsible for the war in Iraq. I agree with the President. He is responsible. He is responsible for attacking a nation that did not attack us. He is responsible for the 2,151 American troops killed in Iraq. He is responsible for the 15,881 US troops injured in the war. He is responsible for at least 30,000 Iraqi civilians killed since the start of the war. He is responsible for draining $250 billion from US taxpayers to pay for the war. And he is responsible for the failed reconstruction and for the continued occupation.

"I am glad to see the President, one thousand days later, is prepared to admit mistakes. He still has one more admission to go: That our continued occupation in Iraq is counterproductive and needs to end quickly."

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