By RICHARD VALENTY Colorado Daily Staff Writer Colorado Daily Thursday, March 13, 2008 10:39 PM MDT

Money isn’t the only problem, but Joan Fitz-Gerald left no doubt about her position on the war in Iraq with this statement on her Web site, www.joanfitz-gerald.com.

“The military mission is over and the diplomatic mission must begin,” wrote Fitz-Gerald. “I will vote to cut off all funding for the war in Iraq and bring the troops home immediately. There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and Saddam Hussein is gone. Why are we still there?”

On Thursday, Fitz-Gerald added that Iraq and the nation’s economic issues are inextricably linked, especially because the billions of dollars being spent on the war effort are billions that cannot be spent on other U.S. needs.

“When you make a choice to spend money in a place where there is no accountability, no mission and no end, you’re also making a choice not to spend money on children’s health care; on fixing roads and bridges; or on an economic stimulus in this country that really means something,” said Fitz-Gerald.

Also, she noted that the war has been funded through a series of supplemental appropriations, which don’t show up in yearly budget deficit projections.

“There’s a lack of accountability to the American public, when they see a budget and it doesn’t include the cost of the conflict that’s draining the nation of its resources,” said Fitz-Gerald.

She also said the war has been part of a “terrible foreign policy” that has not made the U.S. more secure, and said it is time to end the supplementals and let the U.S. military use its “enormous resources” to bring the troops home safely.

“Otherwise, we will march this country further and further into a debt that not only our children won’t be able to repay - but our grandchildren and great-grandchildren also won’t be able to repay,” said Fitz-Gerald.

Full article in the Colorado Daily (opens in a new window).