Robert Byrd was one of the Senate's most outspoken critics of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

I saw the speech Senator Robert Byrd made to the Senate before the Iraq invasion. Too bad Senator Clinton wasn’t listening that day. Maybe her vote to go to war would have been different.


Senator Byrd is the longest serving U S Senator in our history. He was a member of the KKK and was one of the most prominent Dixiecrats of the 60’s.


He has changed his views of civil rights over the years. He was one of the few brave lawmakers who had the nerve to stand up to the cable of cretins led this country into the debacle in Iraq.



In a speech on March 13TH 2008 he stated:


"If the United States leads the charge to war in the Persian Gulf, we may get lucky and achieve a rapid victory. But then we will face a second war: a war to win the peace in Iraq. This war will last many years and will surely cost hundreds of billions of dollars. In light of this enormous task, it would be a great mistake to expect that this will be a replay of the 1991 war. The stakes are much higher in this conflict."


On March 19, 2003, when Bush ordered the invasion after receiving U.S. Congress approval, Byrd stated:


"Today I weep for my country. I have watched the events of recent months with a heavy, heavy heart. No more is the image of America one of strong, yet benevolent peacekeeper. The image of America has changed. Around the globe, our friends mistrust us, our word is disputed, our intentions are questioned. Instead of reasoning with those with whom we disagree, we demand obedience or threaten recrimination."

Byrd also criticized Bush for his speech declaring the "end of major combat operations" in Iraq, which Bush made on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln. Byrd stated on the Senate floor:


"I do question the motives of a deskbound president who assumes the garb of a warrior for the purposes of a speech."

On October 17, 2003, Byrd delivered a speech expressing his concerns about the future of the nation and his unequivocal antipathy to Bush's policies. Referencing the Hans Christian Andersen children's tale The Emperor's New Clothes, Byrd said of the president: "the emperor has no clothes." Byrd further lamented the "sheep-like" behavior of the "cowed Members of this Senate" and called on them to oppose the continuation of a "war based on falsehoods."


Byrd criticized what he saw as the stifling of dissent: "The right to ask questions, debate, and dissent is under attack. The drums of war are beaten ever louder in an attempt to drown out those who speak of our predicament in stark terms. Even in the Senate, our history and tradition of being the world's greatest deliberative body is being snubbed. This huge spending bill - $87 billion - has been rushed through this chamber in just one month. There were just three open hearings by the Senate Appropriations Committee on $87 billion - $87 for every minute since Jesus Christ was born - $87 billion without a single outside witness called to challenge the administration's line." Finally, Byrd quoted Nazi leader Hermann Göring who stated that rushing to war is easy if the proponent of war portrays opponents as unpatriotic.


In July 2004, Byrd released the book Losing America: Confronting a Reckless and Arrogant Presidency about the Bush presidency and the war in Iraq. Of the more than 17,000 votes he has cast as a Senator, Byrd says he is proudest of his vote against the Iraq war resolution.


Maybe 2008 will be the year we vote in candidates that will serve our country instead of serving up our country to the war-profiteers.


Peace and Liberty through intelligence, strength, and integrity.