[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 119 (Tuesday, September 28, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H7587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REPORTS DISCOVERED ON IRAQ
(Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, today the New York Times uncovered two
classified reports prepared for President Bush in the months leading up
to the war in Iraq. These documents warned the President that ``an
American-led invasion of Iraq would result in a deeply divided Iraqi
society prone to violent internal conflict.'' Officials told the Times
that a second report warns of a possible insurgency, saying the rogue
elements from Saddam Hussein's government could work with existing
terrorist groups or act independently to wage guerrilla warfare.
Sounds exactly like the situation our U.S. troops face today in Iraq.
Unfortunately, President Bush and his administration did not listen to
these warnings. Vice President Cheney said we would be greeted with
flowers, and President Bush egged insurgents on by telling them to
``bring it on.''
Today's report is just another example of the President's failed
policies in Iraq. He had a flawed rationale for going to war. He did
not have a plan to win the peace. He failed to implement his
reconstruction plans for Iraq, leaving the country in chaos. And now we
learn that he ignored intelligence estimates that warned of problems
after the fall of Baghdad. The world cannot afford another 4 years of
this failed leadership.
____________________