[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 34 (Thursday, March 16, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H1124-H1125]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF THE IRAQ WAR

  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, this weekend will mark the third 
anniversary of the Iraq war, and I am still

[[Page H1125]]

wondering, more importantly the majority of the American people are 
wondering, why we went there, and what we are still doing there.
  Remember, we were told this was going to be a walk in the park, in 
and out in a flash. A few thousand troops and a few million dollars, no 
sweat. Well, now it has been 3 years, and if we are not out by the end 
of this year, 2006, our troops will have been fighting in Iraq longer 
than their grandparents fought in World War II.
  More than 2,300 Americans dead; tens of thousands wounded; tens of 
thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands, of Iraqi civilians killed; 
over a quarter billion dollars spent, and for what? So we can lose all 
stature and credibility around the world? So we can give rise to an 
insurgency that shows no signs of abating? So we can inspire even 
greater hatred of the United States among violent jihadists in the 
Muslim world? Or so we can throw gasoline on the fire of sectarian 
strife in Iraq and further ignite a civil war?
  Yesterday's Washington Post reports at least 86 bodies found in Iraq, 
many of them in a mass grave, many of them having been strangled or 
tortured. And today the biggest air offensive since the beginning of 
this mistake.
  When is enough enough, Madam Speaker? How many more Presidential 
speeches? How many more half-baked platitudes about the march of 
freedom?
  Just two days ago at George Washington University, the President 
said: ``The work ahead in Iraq is hard.'' But it was his administration 
that assured us 3 years ago of just the opposite, that this was going 
to be easy. ``We will complete the mission,'' he said yesterday. But in 
May 2003, he was declaring ``mission accomplished,'' in fact, draping 
an aircraft carrier with those very words.
  The real tragedy is that our Nation will be living with this 
disastrous fallout from this war for generations. The money we have 
spent on this war is money we do not have and will not have for 
investments in our people, their health care, their education, their 
retirement, their job training, and, yes, their security.
  The unspeakable, despicable acts of torture that took place at Abu 
Ghraib have robbed us of our moral authority. The very foundations of 
freedom have been threatened by the PATRIOT Act and the President's 
defiance of the rule of law on domestic surveillance.
  The trumped-up weapons of mass destruction intelligence and the 
fabrication about an Iraqi link to 9/11 have damaged the trust between 
America and its leaders, trust that is critical to a thriving 
democracy.
  And on a very basic human level, what about men and women who come 
back from Iraq shattered by the experience? Even if they make it home 
with all of their limbs functioning and intact, what about the 
psychological demons that come home with them?
  These brave patriots need medical help if they are going to lead a 
productive civilian life, but according to a recent study by the 
military, they are not getting it.

                              {time}  1915

  Although one-third of returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are 
seeking mental health services, the great majority of those who are 
diagnosed with psychiatric problems are going untreated.
  A lot of damage has been done, Madam Speaker, and there is a lot of 
work ahead: work to repair our troops, our principles, and our 
reputation. But there is one thing we could do right now to stem the 
tide, to contain the damage, to literally stop the bleeding. We could 
and we should bring our troops home now.

                          ____________________