[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 134 (Thursday, October 20, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H9017]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H9017]]
                        IRAQ AND SMART SECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, yesterday Saddam Hussein faced a panel of 
Iraqi judges where he will finally stand trial for the crimes against 
humanity that were committed under his regime. Saddam Hussein is an 
evil person. He ordered thousands of his own people to death, and it is 
time that he is brought to justice for these crimes.
  But anyone who suggests that Iraq is more stable or less of a threat 
to the United States now than it was before the war is fooling 
themselves. Iraq has never been less stable, and it has never posed a 
greater threat to the United States than it does today.
  The war in Iraq has not combated terrorism as President Bush and his 
administration have repeatedly claimed. It has actually encouraged 
terrorism by providing a unified target and rallying point for those 
angry with our Mideast policies.
  Since we invaded Iraq in March of 2003, hundreds of terrorist attacks 
have killed thousands of innocent people, both American soldiers and 
Iraqi civilians.
  Most people assume that suicide terrorism of the sort that plagues 
Iraq on a daily basis stems from opposition to democracy in general or 
hatred of the United States in particular. But Dr. Robert Pape, a 
University of Chicago professor, reaches a different conclusion based 
on a comprehensive study on every act of suicide terrorism that has 
occurred over the last 10 years. Dr. Pape found that the common element 
linking all suicide attacks around the world is not religion. Rather, 
suicide terrorism is about pressuring another country to withdraw its 
military forces from the lands that the terrorists view as their 
homeland.
  This helps to explain the intensity of the Iraqi insurgency. The 
insurgents resent the continued United States occupation of their land 
and want control over it.
  If the folks in the Bush administration truly want to end the war, 
they must honestly convince the Iraqi people that the United States has 
no long-term objectives in Iraq. But to do that would require a sea 
change, because we currently maintain over 100 military bases in Iraq, 
with what certainly appears to be intentions to maintain some of them 
permanently.
  Mr. Speaker, we all know that President Bush loves those prime time 
speeches to our Nation. Maybe it is time for him to eat a little crow 
and ask the international community to help. He needs to face the fact 
that the so-called Bush doctrine of preemptive war and unilateral 
military action just is not working. He should tell the Iraqi people 
that the United States has no plans to maintain permanent bases in 
Iraq, nor do we have any designs on controlling Iraqi oil. You could 
call this speech the ``anti-Bush doctrine.''
  Mr. Speaker, there were plenty of mistakes made in Iraq, mistakes 
that could easily have been avoided. But now, the best thing for the 
President to do is cut his losses, admit he made mistakes, and change 
his course. He needs to seek the cooperation of our allies around the 
world to help Iraq get back on its feet, because we cannot do it by 
ourselves in the United States. The President should do that by going 
back to those countries we have spurned in the past like France and 
Germany, as well as influential bodies like the United Nations and 
NATO, and ask them to assist.
  A true multilateral coalition could and would enable us to bring 
thousands of our troops hope. To borrow a phrase from the President, as 
our allies stand up, we will stand down.

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