Mr. President, in recent days on the Senate floor we’ve heard a loudening drumbeat from members in the minority party denouncing the President and his efforts to fight the War on Terror.

We’ve heard irresponsible, misleading, and flat out false charges.

We’ve seen political antics that distort and polarize what should be a serious and thoughtful debate.

Some have even suggested that we cut and run, and leave Iraq to the terrorists. This position is so thoughtless, irresponsible, and dangerous, I can only believe its proponents are counting on the rest of us to do the right thing and bury it.

Everyday, the attacks get more shrill, more partisan and more personal.

And everyday, I become more and more concerned about the effect they are having on the morale of our troops, the American people, and on our ability to fight and win the War on Terror.

Serious criticism is one thing.

We’re sent to Washington to listen, debate, weigh competing facts and interests, and ultimately govern.

But what we’ve seen from the other side on the issue of Iraq and pre-war intelligence has demonstrated none of these things.

What we’ve seen are wild, partisan accusations that I fear are sending a dangerous signal far beyond this chamber – a signal to our foes and friends alike that when the going gets tough, America cracks.

The fact is the American people are hanging firm.

That is why they re-elected President Bush, and gave Republicans strong majorities in the House and Senate.

President Reagan always said, “Trust the American people.”

He saw that whenever we’ve been faced with a national crisis, America has risen to the challenge.

Through even the darkest and most difficult days, we’ve persevered until the job was done.

We don’t get weak in the knees, or go all wobbly.

It’s not in our national character to cut and run.

We stick to our principles, and we see it through.

It is this tenacity and resilience in the American character that has strengthened our alliances and allies around the world, and helped keep the world safe for freedom and democracy.

Whether it was defeating fascism in World War II, or triumphing in the Cold War, or striking back against terrorists foes, we can be counted on to stand our ground.

We pause and reflect before we take up arms. And we only fight after all options have been exhausted. But when we do, we fight to win.

And we also don’t re-write history when progress doesn’t come as easily or fast as we would like.

We don’t say, “Well, I meant this,” or “I didn’t know that.”

And Republicans, for our part, don’t run away from the votes we cast, or the reasons we cast them.

So let’s set the record straight.

Democrats and Republicans alike received the same information from the Intelligence Community about Saddams’ WMD programs.

It was the same information that many intelligence agencies around the world believed, as well.

It was built upon decades of facts about Saddam’s efforts to acquire, build, and use weapons of mass destruction.

We all know he used chemical weapons against his own people and the Iranians in the 1980s.

We all know the International Atomic Energy Agency discovered his illicit nuclear programs after the first Gulf War.

We all know that he was being deceitful and duplicitous to international inspectors in the 1990’s before he threw them out of the country a few years later.

Now, the Democrats say that the President received different information than they did, suggesting that if only they had access to intelligence that he did, they would not have supported the war.

In fact, the White House and the Congress received the same national intelligence estimates, were briefed by the same analysts, and could visit the CIA to drill down further if they chose.

If they had their doubts about the intelligence, they had ample opportunity to pursue it more aggressively.

But they didn’t. And here’s why.

Here is what Democrats were saying in 1998:

President Bill Clinton: “[M]ark my words, [Saddam] will develop weapons of mass destruction. He will deploy them, and he will use them.”

Vice President Al Gore: “Saddam’s ability to produce and deliver weapons of mass destruction poses a grave threat … to the security of the world.”

Secretary Of State Madeleine Albright: “[W]e are concerned … about [Saddam’s] ability in the long run … to threaten all of us with weapons of mass destruction.”

Senator Harry Reid: “[Saddam] is too dangerous of a man to be given carte blanche with weapons of mass destruction.”

Senator Dick Durbin: “[Saddam’s] chemical and biological weapons capabilities are frightening.”

And in 2002, there was more:

Former Vice President Al Gore: “We know that [Saddam] has stored away secret supplies of biological weapons and chemical weapons throughout his country.”

Senator Ted Kennedy: “We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction.”

Senator Jay Rockefeller: “Saddam’s existing biological and chemical weapons capabilities pose real threats to America today, tomorrow.”

Senator John Kerry and aspiring presidential candidate: “These weapons represent an unacceptable threat.”

That is what they said then despite what they say now.

You see, the fact is, we all received the same information, and we all based our analysis and our decisions on the same information – as did many, many agencies and governments around the world.

President Bush and Vice President Cheney didn’t mislead the American people.

Just as back in 1998, President Clinton and the Democrats didn’t mislead the American people about Saddam’s WMD.

We made the best decisions we could based on the information we had.

As we’ve now discovered, the person who was misleading the world was Saddam Hussein.

And let it be said, the world is better off without him.

Saddam was a brutal dictator who terrorized his own people, threatened and invaded his neighbors, and clearly demonstrated a thirst for WMD and the willingness to use them to achieve his ends.

Saddam Hussein routinely tortured, murdered and imprisoned hundreds of thousands of innocent prisoners.

During his Anfal Campaign against the Kurds, more than 182,000 people disappeared, many of whom have only been found in the last two years – bones and dust scattered in mass graves.

On March 16th, 1988 – a day that should live in infamy – Saddam dropped Sarin and VX nerve agents on the town of Halabja, killing more than 5,000 innocent civilians.

And that wasn’t the first time he used chemical weapons.

He deployed chemical weapons and poison gas during the 8 year Iran-Iraq war, killing an estimated 20,000 Iranian troops.

And during the Anfal Campaign, Saddam launched chemical attacks on more than 40 Iraqi villages.

This is a man who was willing to destroy entire regions of his own country to retaliate against perceived threats to his power.

As retribution against the marsh Arabs in the south of Iraq, Saddam drained 7,500 acres of wetlands driving out an ancient culture and leaving behind a barren and burnt moonscape.

And since the fall of his regime, we’ve heard countless, heartrending stories of innocent Iraqis being arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned and tortured for invented crimes.

No one denies that the foreign terrorists in Iraq are making the path forward dangerous and difficult.

Heroic men and women have fallen on the battlefield, leaving behind bereaved families and a grieving nation.

But that doesn’t make our cause less just, or diminish the nobility and worthiness of the war.

To the contrary, it should heighten our respect for our troops and for their achievements on the frontlines of freedom.

Would we have beaten the Nazis if the Republicans complained to FDR about our losses on D-Day?

Would we have defeated Imperial Japan if we cowered in the face of fierce fighting on Iwo Jima?

As I said at the beginning, serious criticism is valuable and it’s necessary.

It can strengthen and unify our resolve.

But partisan, political attacks on the war effort only undermine our success and embolden our enemy.

We know from the letter that was intercepted from Zawahiri to Zarqawi, their strategy is to divide the American people and win the war of perception.

Their goal is to drive us out and defeat Iraq.

I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to engage constructively on ways to improve our strategy, tighten our operations, and help our Nation achieve the vision of a free, democratic and secure Iraq.

We’re making progress, and the Iraqis are showing determination and grit.

And when victory is finally achieved, America, Iraq, and the world at large will all be made safer for it.

In the words of Senator Reid back in 1998 when President Clinton faced down Saddam and ordered the bombing of Iraq: “Now is not the time for second-guessing or partisan finger-pointing. National security concerns must come first.”