[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 17, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H1119-H1120]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      U.S. POLICY IN IRAQ DEFINED

  (Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, the House is about to consider H. Res. 
561, which represents another missed opportunity for this body. The war 
in Iraq defined and drove United States' policy for the last 2 years. 
While there are legitimate questions about whether we are as a world 
safer today than we were a year ago, this resolution ignores the real 
question of how safe the world would be, if we had done it right.
  While there was never a doubt about the U.S. winning the war, this 
administration ignored the cost of winning the peace. Our young men and 
women in

[[Page H1120]]

uniform pay the price every day in Iraq for that failure.
  Yes, we need to support; yes, we need to unify; yes, we need to 
indicate our appreciation for our troops; but more important, we need 
to learn from this experience. How do we improve our intelligence and 
our military execution so that our soldiers are not unnecessarily put 
in harm's way in the future? Our families at home and our troops 
overseas deserve for us to do it right.

                          ____________________