To the editor:

In July, the CIA completed a comprehensive report on Iraq. President Bush should release the CIA’s report to the public immediately — with any secret information removed — so that citizens can assess the situation there. With more than 1,000 American soldiers dead in Iraq, Americans can no longer afford to hear Bush’s sunny spin on Iraq.

Americans need the facts on Iraq. Since the initial invasion, President Bush’s optimistic outlook has been proven wrong over and over again. All the facts should be put on the table so that we can have a meaningful national debate about what our country should do next.

Future costs of the Iraq war must be assessed now so we can decide how to balance our domestic and foreign policy goals. Our economy is sputtering, the deficit is ballooning, our schools are crumbling, and there’s barely a flicker of economic hope on the horizon. If we don’t know the facts on Iraq, we cannot have a meaningful national debate about how to balance competing priorities at home and abroad.

Our soldiers’ lives are on the line. Our sons and daughters will continue to die as long as we are in Iraq. For their sake, we need to know all the facts and assess them honestly.

This is not a partisan issue, despite the election-year posturing by both parties. Respected senators such as Sen. Bob Graham, a Democrat from Florida, and Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, are joining together in calling for the release of the CIA report on Iraq.

Karla Knudson,

Lawrence