[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 54 (Thursday, April 28, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H2721]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SMART SECURITY AND MISSION UNACCOMPLISHED

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, over the last few months, the Iraqi 
people have been making strides toward democracy by holding elections, 
nominating ministers and working on a draft constitution. I 
congratulate the people of Iraq for their very brave efforts, efforts 
that I am certain were intended to take Iraq back for the people of 
Iraq.
  Though admirable, none of Iraq's recent advances validate the false 
pretenses that caused the United States to fight a war in a country 
that never threatened us, never attacked us and never posed a threat to 
our way of life. But, sadly, despite the false pretenses under which 
this war was fought, President Bush and his administration have 
continued to insist that Iraq is close to becoming a stable and viable 
democracy. The President claims that the war in Iraq is going well and 
that our military is succeeding.
  Madam Speaker, I do not know about you, but I do not consider the 
deaths of over 1,500 American soldiers and countless tens of thousands 
of innocent Iraqi civilians and no end in sight as a military success.
  Yet, declaring success in the very face of chaos is nothing new for 
this President. May 2 is the second anniversary of his speech declaring 
``an end to major combat operations'' under a banner declaring 
``mission accomplished.'' Mission accomplished.
  One year later, many experts have different opinions. In fact, 
earlier today I participated in an event with Daniel Ellsberg, the 
author of the Pentagon Papers, which revealed that President Richard 
Nixon was deceiving the American people about the role America played 
in the Vietnam War. From his past experience, Mr. Ellsberg believes 
that Iraq will not be safe for years to come and that the Bush 
administration seems eager to maintain high troop levels in the country 
for the foreseeable future. To what end, he and I both ask?
  I question that if there are 150,000 fully-trained Iraqi soldiers, as 
the President claims, then why are America's 150,000 troops still in 
Iraq? Why do they remain there as sitting ducks for drive-by shootings 
and car bombings?
  Unfortunately, I believe that the reason is the Bush administration 
is gearing up for a sustained military occupation of Iraq, with access 
to oil having more to do with that occupation than our government 
admits.
  Evidence certainly points to an occupation that will not end any time 
soon. The Bush administration has specifically sought funds for 14 
military bases in Iraq, claiming they are not permanent. The very idea 
of funding American military bases in Iraq more than suggests that 
President Bush is not serious about turning Iraq over to the Iraqis any 
time soon. In fact, Daniel Ellsberg believes that the U.S. occupation 
of Iraq could last longer than the U.S. occupation of Vietnam in the 
1970s, which persisted for a total of 16 years. This should scare 
everyone who values peace, who values democracy and fiscal sanity.
  The possibility that the United States could maintain a military 
presence in Iraq for years to come is dangerous; dangerous to our 
foreign policy and inconsistent with the values that most Americans 
hold dear.
  Fortunately, however, the continued occupation of Iraq has the 
American people talking seriously about a withdrawal. That is why I 
introduced H. Con. Res. 35 in January of this year, legislation calling 
for the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Iraq. By removing 
American troops, we will remove the main focus of the insurgents' rage. 
Bringing our troops home is the only way to keep them safe and out of 
harm's way.
  Everyone likes to talk about supporting the troops. Well, it is time 
to truly support our troops, by bringing them home, and we should begin 
that effort today.

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