It is fair to say that the more we love our country the more we want it to be a better, more honorable country. Using this criterion, we can say that few people loved the U.S. as much as former senator Robert Byrd did. And only death could finally silence him.

Nobody was more vocal than Byrd in the opposition to the Iraq war, which he considered a disgraceful course of action that would have negative effects on the country. And he was one of the few to state that opposition as strongly on the Senate floor.

On March 19, 2003, addressing the nation soon after the bombing of Baghdad had begun, former president George W. Bush stated, “The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder. We will meet that threat now, with our Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines, so that we do to have to meet it later with armies of fire fighters and police and doctors on the streets of our cities.”

Thus was the beginning of one of the most costly wars, both economically, in the number of lives lost and in the U.S. social standing in the world that this country has ever faced. Senator Robert Byrd reacted with predictable horror to this course of action, and was one of the few to vote against the war.

Speaking from the floor of the Senate on the afternoon of March 19, Senator Byrd said, “…today I weep for my country. I have watched the events of recent months with a heavy, heavy heart. No more is the image of America one of strong, yet benevolent peacekeeper. The Image of America has changed. Around the globe, our friends mistrust us, our word is disputed, our intentions are questioned.”

“Instead of reasoning with those with whom we disagree, we demand obedience or threaten recrimination. Instead of isolating Saddam Hussein, we seem to have isolated ourselves. We proclaim a new doctrine of preemption which is understood by few and feared by many. We say that the United States has the right to turn its firepower on any corner of the globe which might be suspect on the war on terrorism. We assert that right without the sanction of any international body. As a result, the world has become a much more dangerous place.”

“We flaunt our superpower status with arrogance. We treat UN Security Council members like ingrates who offend our princely dignity by lifting their heads from the carpet. Valuable alliances are split.”

“After war has ended, the United States will have to rebuild much more than the country of Iraq. We will have to rebuild America’s image around the globe.”

In his address to the nation on the evening of March 19 former president Bush outlined the purpose of invading Iraq, “to disarm Iraq, to free its people, and to defend the world from grave danger.” Earlier that afternoon, on the Senate floor, Senator Byrd had stated, “The case this Administration tries to make to justify its fixation with war is tainted by charges of falsified documents and circumstantial evidence. We cannot convince the world of the necessity of this war for one simple reason. This is a war of choice.”

And while former president Bush and vice-president Dick Cheney insisted on finding lame excuses for the war against Iraq, Senator Byrd said in his speech, “The brutality seen on September 11th and in other terrorists attacks we have witnessed around the globe are the violent and desperate efforts by extremists to stop the daily encroachment of western values upon their cultures. That is what we fight. It is a force not confined to borders. It is a shadowy entity with many faces, many names, and many addresses.”

The Iraq war has proven to be an unrelenting tragedy not only for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi that were killed but also for the occupying forces soldiers killed and maimed. It is estimated that the total costs of veterans’ health care and disability may be higher than $700 billion. And Senator Byrd has been one of the earliest and strongest voices against this nightmare. His is a heroic voice that could only be silenced by death.

Dr. César Chelala is a co-winner of an Overseas Press Club of America award for an article on human rights.