In 2002, as chairman of the International Security Subcommittee, Senator Akaka held hearings on Iraq's purported weapons of mass destruction (WMD). He attended classified briefings, participated in Armed Services Committee hearings, and listened to outside experts. He concluded that Iraq's alleged WMD programs did not pose an immediate threat and, more significantly, that the President's post-war strategy would not work. He along with 22 other senators made the difficult and (at the time) unpopular decision to vote against waging a war against Iraq.

He cautioned that before the United States considered invading Iraq, the U.S. should (1) exhaust all means short of war to enforce United Nations resolutions concerning Iraq, (2) build an effective international coalition both to fight the war and to win the peace, and (3) ensure that Iraq did indeed have weapons of mass destruction.

Moreover, Akaka said, "A rush to battle without a strategy to win the peace is folly. The cost of that peace both in terms of American dollars and American lives would be costly."

Tragically, Senator Akaka words proved prophetic. Since President Bush declared a "mission success" a little over three years ago, over 2,500 Americans have died and the number continues to grow. Among those were more than a hundred soldiers with Hawaii connections. In addition, the cost of the war continues to skyrocket. Immediately prior to the war, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld informed Congress that the total cost of the war would be under $60 billion. To date, the cost has totaled approximately $273 billion with no end in sight.

Senator Akaka believes the U.S. needs a specific plan of action that involves the Iraqi government and clarifies objectives and goals that our military and the Iraqi security forces will follow to secure peace and ensure democracy in Iraq. Toward that end, Senator Akaka supports a Democratic plan which provides a definitive and achievable exit strategy.

Far from risking Iraq's collapse, setting a timetable for a phased withdrawal signals America's clear intention to the Iraqi people to support the new Iraqi government and gives Americans a measure of certainty about ending a war that the majority of this nation no longer supports

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