[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 5, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H2630-H2631]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TIME TO GET OUT OF IRAQ

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart, 
but my conscience is clear. I am so sick and tired of seeing so many of 
our young men and our young women die in Iraq.
  Why has our Commander in Chief led them to their deaths in this 
unnecessary war? What will we tell the parents who will never see their 
children again? What will we tell the children longing in vain for 
their mothers and fathers to come home? Why did they die? Why?
  After the atrocities we have committed against the Iraq prisoners of 
war, after the physical and psychological damage we have inflicted on 
the people of that nation, we can no longer truthfully say we are 
leading Iraq to freedom. Before the war, we were told that we would be 
welcomed as liberators.

[[Page H2631]]

  Mr. Speaker, I say to you today, we must take a good hard look at our 
leadership in America. I say to you today, we must hold them 
accountable for mistake after mistake we have committed in this war. We 
must hold them accountable for the deaths of our young people, and we 
must hold them accountable for the unjust torture of our prisoners of 
war.
  Mr. Speaker, it is not a question of who committed these unbelievable 
acts of torture. It is not a question of who, but what. What led to 
this flagrant disregard for the humanity of our fellow human beings?
  Those at the highest level of this government, the President, the 
Vice President and the Secretary of Defense, they have all created the 
climate and the environment that led to these abuses. They have 
disregarded the sovereignty of another nation. Now our soldiers have 
disregarded the humanity of the citizens of Iraq.
  Violence begets violence, Mr. Speaker. A military overthrow of 
another government does not lead to a peaceful democracy.
  American soldiers smiling as they humiliate citizens of Iraq. There 
must be a sense of righteous indignation in America about what happened 
in those prison cells, and there must be a sense of righteous 
indignation in this Congress against these unspeakable acts.
  Mr. Speaker, I have said it in the past, and I will say it again 
today: war is messy. It is bloody. It tends to not just hide the truth, 
but to sacrifice the truth.
  Why did it take so long for this information to come out? Why did the 
officials at the highest level of government try to hide these crimes 
against humanity? Why did they try to cover them up?
  Mr. Speaker, we have made mistakes, yes; but it is not enough to 
issue an apology. It is not enough to say we are sorry. We should issue 
an apology, but we should say we are sorry also.
  But, Mr. Speaker, the handwriting is on the wall. It is time for us 
to get out. It is time for us to bring our young men and our young 
women home. It is time for us to close this very dark and sordid 
chapter in the history of our great Nation.

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