No one wants to go to war. The hardest vote any member of Congress ever has to make is the one that could send our young men and women overseas to defend freedom. On September 11, 2001, terrorists waged war against the United States by attacking thousands of innocent civilians. Based on the intelligence available to both the Clinton and the Bush Administrations, our nation not only knew that Osama bin Laden orchestrated the 9/11 attacks but that Saddam Hussein in Iraq posed a great danger to our country as well.

Consequently, as part of our war against terrorism, President Bush took action to remove this threat to our nation. Our courageous servicemen and women succeeded in liberating the people of Iraq from Saddam Hussein, a tyrannical and oppressive leader who we all knew had the capability to threaten America.

"I know I speak for everyone in this chamber, Republicans and Democrats, when I say to Saddam Hussein: You cannot defy the will of the world; you have used weapons of mass destruction before; we are determined to deny you the capacity to use them again." President Bill Clinton spoke these words in his 1998 State of the Union address. He found Saddam to be a threat based on the same intelligence that President George W. Bush and members of Congress, including myself and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, received. Yet, today, partisan politics are fueling a divisive debate over whether the country was "misled" into war.

The fact is that our nation was not "misled" into war. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said in 2002: "Saddam Hussein certainly has chemical and biological weapons. There's no question about that." The intelligence produced under both the Clinton and Bush Administrations supported that conclusion, and history had showed that Saddam used weapons of mass destruction against his own people. Even more disturbing was the apparent connection between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda. The bipartisan 9/11 Commission report cites evidence of numerous contacts between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda before the 2003 invasion. Specifically, the 9/11 Commission states, "according to the reporting, Iraqi officials offered Bin Ladin a safe haven in Iraq." It was appropriate that as our country sought to defeat terrorism and protect America from future attacks, we hold responsible those who posed a threat or provided safe haven to terrorists.

Our brave servicemen and women successfully removed a brutal dictator from power who threatened our country as well as his region and his own people. Our nation is safer as a result. With the help of our troops, the Iraqi people are on the road toward building a fully democratic state and being able to defend their own nation. These efforts are critical to ensure that terrorists do not find Iraq to be a vulnerable nation ideal for their use as a safe haven for plotting against innocent Americans.

Like all Nevadans, I too want to bring our troops home as soon as possible. But we can't set an arbitrary deadline or make our battlefield decisions based on polling numbers. Our military has made, and continues to make, remarkable strides in securing Iraq which strengthens our own security here at home. I am confident we will see continued progress that will enable our nation to leave Iraq as a stable, free, and democratic nation capable of defending itself from terrorism. Until that time, we need to continue to support our troops who have left behind their families and friends to protect their nation and defend freedom. These heroes deserve better than rancorous partisan politics which only serves to divide our nation instead of unite it.