This Bush Administration - with the unquestioning support of Saxby Chambliss - has lost touch with what's going on in Iraq.

The war has cost our country dearly. More than 4,000 service members have lost their lives and over 29,000 have been wounded. The cost for American taxpayers has exceeded $500 billion.

It's time for the people of Iraq to start taking responsibility for their own country. Only when we leave the people of Iraq to stand on their own two feet will we really be able to start making our economy work for the middle class again and address the rising costs of food and gas here at home.

Our presence in Iraq has emboldened Al-Qaeda. It has offered them a new front on which to fight us, and it has distracted us from more important military and diplomatic initiatives.

The terrorist threat to our country is real, but we are not being very smart about the threat. We must redeploy our forces to more effectively combat terrorism. For example, we should put a new focus on rooting out Al-Qaeda and its allies in Afghanistan and the bordering regions of Pakistan.

We must have a military presence in the Middle East that is sustainable and that protects our national security interests. And our military strategy must include a robust diplomatic component and have meaningful support from our allies abroad. The United States should engage in negotiations with Iraq's neighbors, who have a stake in a stable Iraq and an end to the violence.

Finally, one of the great tragedies of the Iraq war has been the Bush Administration's wanton neglect of our troops and veterans. We have to do a better job of taking care of our troops when they return home.