Please tell our families they are always in our thought and prayers, and as long as they support us and do not lose faith in us or our mission, we will accomplish that mission. There is good news to be reported from Iraq but at the same time it's not all milk and honey. We have difficult work to do. We have set out with a purpose and a goal, and are progressing nicely to achieve these goals.

The realities of history are never as clean as the revisionists make them appear to be. The history of World War II shows us that the peace won is never easy. There were failures throughout the war, and after the defeat of Germany, the country lay in ruins for two years before the Marshall Plan began, and years later before the German people built their government.

Today's war is no different. Miscalculations were made but there is real progress here today that needs to be known. We are giving Iraq the chance to rejoin the world of free nations.