[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 81 (Monday, June 14, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H3937-H3938]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CALLING ON THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION FOR CLEAR FOREIGN POLICY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I wondered how I would begin 
this evening inasmuch as this past week we honored a fallen President, 
and I wanted to ensure that the respect of that week continued. So I 
simply say that it is important, if we remember anything from the honor 
that was given to President Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th President of 
the United States, it might be, among many, many things that were said 
last week is his ability to convince and convey by words and diplomacy 
and particularly what is attributed to him, along with others that he 
helped inspire, is the ability to tear down the Iron Curtain, to break 
through the wall of Communism, and to do so, as has been said very 
frequently, without one single bullet being fired.
  I think that is an appropriate backdrop for the pain and anguish with 
which I come to the floor this evening, and that is to again speak of 
the tumultuous activities and events and incidences that are occurring 
now in the Middle East but, in particular, in Iraq.
  It is represented to us that the insurgents are increasing their 
activity, their brutality, their bloodshed because of the potential 
transition of government. But I believe it is crucial for this 
administration to do several things: one, to again address this body of 
Congress to be able to enunciate and to provide information on just 
what

[[Page H3938]]

our strategy is going to be post-June 30. We have a hostage being held 
in Saudi Arabia, al Qaeda is in its height of activity, bloodshed is 
occurring in Baghdad and around Iraq on a most frequent basis. Conflict 
has not yet been resolved, and there is, I believe, confusion within 
the Defense Department, the leadership, Secretary Rumsfeld whom we have 
asked on repeated occasions to resign in light of Abu Ghraib and the 
continued abuses that we hear of, and the lack of direction. There is 
no response from the administration. That is, I think, intolerable.
  Let me also ask of the administration, as we have asked those of us 
who are aware of the crisis in Sudan that we should not stand by and 
watch as we watched in Rwanda. We know that some 40,000 people are now 
being displaced. Even while the government out of Khartoum is 
negotiating a peace treaty in Kenya, we know that violence has broken 
out again. Children are dying, women are being mutilated and raped and 
brutalized, and there is Muslim on Muslim murder, Arab Muslims, the 
rebels killing and destroying villages where black Muslims live. There 
may be no peace, there cannot be any peace until this matter is 
resolved.
  The Congressional Black Caucus, and I wish to express my appreciation 
to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) for his leadership; we 
expect to meet with the U.N. envoy to Sudan to be able to get a full 
and direct explanation as to why the Government of Sudan cannot 
immediately cease this violence. That is the concern I have when the 
United States has immersed itself in conflicts that it cannot get out 
of. That means that when there is a need for humanitarian aid for our 
military personnel to be able to save lives, we are so stretched that 
we cannot do it.
  I might say to my colleagues as we are about to meet and greet again 
the President of Afghanistan and thank him for his great leadership, he 
too needs our additional assistance as we begin to move toward an 
election in September. Greater assistance is needed for our troops who 
are there in Afghanistan, and some of their actions have been actually 
forgotten, because we will be moving to an election; and it will be 
difficult in Afghanistan in order to provide for the safety and 
security of those voters and those who will be registering to vote.
  So, Mr. Speaker, what I am concerned about is the fact that we are so 
immersed in the conflict, it seems frustrating, confusing, and unending 
in Iraq, we then leave ourselves vulnerable to not being able to 
provide assistance to the people in Afghanistan, moving toward a 
peaceful election and certainly the crisis, brutality, and murder in 
Sudan, would leave us simply crying and wallowing in our own tears, 
because every day, 30,000 people are being killed in Sudan.
  So I ask the administration to give us some direction in Iraq, let 
the Congress know just what the road map is, because the killing by 
insurgents is not something that we should tolerate. Give us some 
direction in Afghanistan to know that we have the amount of troops 
there to provide for the safe and secure voting and elections and 
people being allowed to register without being killed and intimidated 
and frightened away from registering to vote. Women should not be kept 
away from voting.
  Then of course in Sudan, it cannot be another Rwanda; it cannot show 
itself to be a continuing killing field. One million in Rwanda, 2 
million already dead in Sudan, thinking that we have a peace treaty 
but, in fact, we should say to America, we do not.
  I know that my colleagues are sympathetic to the idea that when 
brutality and murder go on innocent people, and it is happening in 
Sudan. I would ask the administration now to make a strong and potent 
statement, Secretary Powell, in order for the Government of Sudan to 
immediately cease this kind of bloodshed going on. While they give the 
impression that they are engaging in peace treaties in Kenya, people 
are dying in their country, and it is becoming a killing field, and we 
cannot tolerate it and we must not tolerate it.

                              {time}  2030

  So we ask not only for mercy, we ask for relief. So we ask for this 
Congress and this administration to become engaged.

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