[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 21, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H8221]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ARAB THOUGHT FORUM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I recently journeyed to Amman, Jordan, 
where I met with Iraqi exiles and Jordanian leaders. While there, I had 
the privilege of addressing a special meeting of the widely respected 
Arab Thought Forum, a community of leaders from throughout the Middle 
East.
  For a quarter of a century, the ATF has examined issues affecting the 
Arab world and developed realistic solutions. There are over 200 
members from throughout the Arab world. His Royal Highness Prince El 
Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan is the president.
  My goal was to listen, to learn, and to bring back whatever message 
this distinguished organization wanted America to hear directly. Their 
perspective is uniquely valuable. They are not anti-U.S. or anti-West. 
They support us even as they champion a strong and safe Arab world. The 
ATF wants Iraq to succeed. They live every day what we see for a few 
minutes every night on the news. They do not hate us, but they know who 
does. They know that hatred is a cancer that spreads if not treated, 
and they know that Western words that defy Iraqi reality is not 
treatment.
  Every night we witness the unbearable heartbreak of another child 
dead, another family wailing in agony, unaware of the news camera that 
acts as a voyeur in their anguish.
  How often have we neutralized our feelings to the sight of an Iraqi 
convulsed in the street, rocking back and forth, holding on to the 
lifeless body of a loved one? Even the most callous cannot help but 
admit that Iraq has become a minefield of hatred and violence that 
pierces Western rhetoric to the very heart. Iraq is close to civil war, 
and the presence of U.S. forces is a focal point for this blind rage.
  Saying it is time to get out would be very easy for me. Saying it is 
time to find a way out is not, but I am saying just that. The United 
States needs a plan that protects our soldiers and offers some chance 
to stabilize Iraq. We are nowhere close to that today.
  Over 1,900 U.S. soldiers have died, between 25,000 and 100,000 Iraqis 
have been killed, and tens of thousands of Americans and Iraqis have 
been wounded, and the violence goes on.
  The development of an Iraqi Constitution was supposed to be a peace 
process by another name to bring Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis together, 
but the Sunnis leaders strongly rejected the process and the document 
it produced.
  Middle Eastern leaders told me that the constitution is sort of a 
``damned if you do, damned if you don't'' sort of affair. They say, as 
written now, passage would mean another 15 years of war and civil war 
at the least. If it fails, the insurgents will claim victory over the 
United States and plunge Iraq even deeper into violence.
  As many Arab leaders see it, we are rushing headlong into a lose-lose 
situation. To these people, the conclusion is inescapable. Many I met 
privately believe that the United States' actions can only mean the 
U.S. entered Iraq for oil. They fear the United States will remain not 
because it is in Iraq's best interests, but because it is in America's 
oil interests.
  Why else, they ask, would the administration refuse to pledge that we 
will not build permanent military bases? Why else, they wonder, would 
the administration stubbornly refuse to alter their course in the face 
of reality? These are our friends talking.
  In that spirit, they offered an idea, a breakthrough that changes 
everything. They do not condemn the administration or America. They do 
not call for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces. Instead, they 
asked me to bring back a message of hope that peace can be achieved not 
by force, rhetoric, or the United States alone.

                              {time}  1745

  The Arab Thought Forum believes the road to peace can only be found 
by having a respected Arab leader convene an Iraqi summit conference 
without the West dictating the terms. Without the West dictating the 
terms. It may even be possible for his Royal Highness al Hassan to lead 
such a summit, but only if the United States stops talking and starts 
listening. No one I met believes the present course will lead to peace 
in Iraq.
  This weekend, thousands of Americans will participate here in 
Washington and across the Nation in Operation Cease-Fire. The event 
will convulse the Nation, pitting Americans who want us out of Iraq 
immediately against those who believe it is worth going on. We remain 
deeply divided.
  Mr. Speaker, urge the President to stop the rhetoric and get the Arab 
Thought Forum on point to have such a summit. Only by sitting down with 
all the parties, led by an Arab, can this be stopped.

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