[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 96 (Tuesday, July 13, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H5542]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             SUDAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 20, 2004, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 2 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we should be troubled by a 
number of concerns that are getting sometimes less attention than I 
think they should. First let me say I am so very proud to acknowledge 
two Members in the other body that will be addressing the Payne-Wolf 
resolution to declare the acts in Sudan genocide. With 400,000 people 
displaced, women and children and men being murdered, villages being 
burned, the world watches.
  I am reminded of the millions who died in Rwanda. And we cannot stand 
idly by. It is imperative that the people of Sudan rise up in 
opposition to their government that continues to allow the murder and 
pillage against those innocent individuals.
  I look forward to working with the United States Congress in ensuring 
that Sudan, the government in Khartoum, understands that we mean 
business and will not stand by while this tragic, murderous brutality 
occurs.
  Then, Mr. Speaker, I would ask the American people to look closely at 
this question of the CIA intelligence breakdown before the war in Iraq. 
Because I believe every life is precious. And I believe our 
Constitution ensures that we in America pride ourselves in supporting 
peace over war and that we understand the importance of teaching and 
giving truth to the American people.
  And so this breakdown in intelligence, which caused or at least gave 
to the Congress the basis upon which that resolution was passed, many 
of us knew it was wrong and voted against it, we should not allow that 
perspective to go off silently into the night. It is important for the 
American people to ask the question why and to get the right answers.
  Because it is important when we take our young soldiers, our family 
members into war, they go into battle on truth and on a Constitutional 
purpose and that Congress votes for war in a Constitutional manner.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe this country has the opportunity to rise to 
its highest moral values and that means that it does believe that 
freedom is not free and that we all will rise to defend our Nation and 
that we recognize the tragedy of 9/11, that we will not use falsehoods, 
however, in order to engage in a war that could have been solved by 
U.N. inspectors, could have been solved by coalition.
  So I ask my colleagues to help support the resolution that we offered 
in the Senate and the one in the House on Sudan. I ask my colleagues to 
ask the questions of why our intelligence failed, that it never fail 
again that we send out Americans into war for falsehoods as opposed to 
truth.

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