SCHAKOWSKY STATEMENT ON END OF IRAQ WAR

Washington, DC (December 15, 2011) - U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) released the following statement today on the official end of the war in Iraq:

Washington, DC (December 15, 2011) - U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) released the following statement today on the official end of the war in Iraq:

"As of today, the war in Iraq is over. This is a monumental day on which we must celebrate the service and sacrifice of the 1.5 million young men and women in uniform who served there, and the nearly 4,500 Americans who died there along with tens of thousands of Iraqis. We welcome our heroes home and pledge to honor their service with the care and benefits they deserve.

I also congratulate and thank the thousands of activists who worked tirelessly for nearly a decade to bring out troops home. And I thank the Illinois State Senator, who, on October 2, 2002, stood before a crowd in Chicago and said, "I don't oppose all wars…I oppose…a rash war,... a war, he said, that "distract(s) us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the medium income....

That State Senator was Barack Obama, 9 years ago. Later, as a candidate for President, he promised to end the Iraq war, a promise fulfilled today. Welcome home troops. And thank you, Mr. President."

###