[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 20, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6100-S6101]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           IRAQI AMNESTY PLAN

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, it goes without saying there are a number of 
issues upon which Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans will never 
agree. We have our differences about whether there is global warming, 
about the staggering deficits we have, lack of health care, economic 
policy generally. I understand and respect the differences we have on 
those issues. If there were ever an issue where we should be able to 
find common ground, it is supporting the troops we have around the 
world. I use the word ``should'' because of what is now happening in 
the Senate.
  As I speak, there is an amendment pending before this body. It is an 
amendment that says the Iraqi Government should not proceed with their 
plan to grant amnesty to terrorists who kill American troops. It is a 
very simple amendment with a message the American people, I know, agree 
with. So why is it that Republicans who control this body have 
filibustered this amendment? It has been going on for days now. I 
really have trouble figuring that out. Their excuses don't make sense.
  Their first excuse is that aides to the Prime Minister were 
misquoted, but we don't have any evidence of that. In fact, it is quite 
the contrary. The aide who first stated this stands by his story. They 
have asked him to step down, and he no longer has his position. But he 
was quoted, after having stepped down, as saying:

       The prime minister himself has said that he is ready to 
     give amnesty to the so-called resistance, provided they have 
     not been involved in killing Iraqis.

  That was the end of the quote. Of course, what it doesn't say, 
according to everything that they have said, is that it is OK to kill 
Americans but not Iraqis. We now have news accounts--not confirmed by 
the Pentagon, at least to me--that Kristian Menchaca, 23 years old, 
member of the U.S. Army, and Thomas Tucker, age 25, U.S. Army, who were 
abducted, taken as prisoners of war, have been killed. Try telling 
their families that it is OK to give amnesty to the so-called 
resistance provided they have not been involved in killing Iraqis, only 
Americans. The families of Tucker and Menchaca would be very 
displeased.
  Over the weekend we received even more evidence that the Iraqi 
Government favors amnesty for those who shed American blood. From 
Sunday's Los Angeles Times: The amnesty plan would apparently include 
insurgents alleged to have staged attacks against Americans.
  They are saying amnesty. So it is clear that the situation regarding 
amnesty, the amendment pending before this body, is one where the 
Iraqis who serve in their Government are saying that it is OK if the 
insurgents kill Americans and not OK if they kill Iraqis. The only 
thing that is clear is the Senate needs to go on record and direct 
President Bush to tell the Iraqi Government that that plan is 
unacceptable. That is what the amendment does.
  There are other excuses offered by the majority. Some have argued 
that if indeed this amnesty plan is real, we should just accept it as 
we did amnesty plans following World War II and Vietnam. Of course, we 
know that there were war trials in World War II. World War II went on 
for 3 years plus. This war has been going on for 3 years plus. World 
War II was fought all over the world, Southeast Asia, all over Europe, 
Africa, all of the islands between Hawaii and Japan. The war in Iraq 
has been fought in a relatively small area and has been going on almost 
as long as World War II. So I believe the argument that we should 
accept their amnesty plan doesn't set well with me or with the American 
people.

  The majority of Americans killed in Iraq have not been killed in 
traditional acts of war. This war is different from others. They have 
been killed in acts of war, even though they have been so-called 
nontraditional acts of war. They were killed in acts of terror, which 
is part of this war. Anybody who believes in freedom and what our 
troops are dying for in Iraq should believe their killers should be 
brought to justice if possible. I believe the excuses on the majority 
side are designed by Republicans to hide the truth.
  The filibuster of the anti-amnesty amendment is just another example 
of cutting and running. We hear this all the time. If there were ever 
an example of cutting and running, it is not to allow a vote on a 
simple amendment that says we should not condone the Iraqis granting 
amnesty to Iraqis who have killed Americans.
  I believe this cutting and running, which is thrown around here so 
gratuitously by the majority, could apply to what happened last year on 
the Defense authorization bill. It took months. The bill was reported 
out of committee, I think sometime in late April. We didn't get to the 
bill for months after that. Why? We had it on the floor once, but it 
was pulled because of gun liability legislation, which some believed 
was more important than the bill directing

[[Page S6101]]

how we are going to handle the policy of our armed services.
  Today, instead of pulling this bill for gun liability or some other 
extraneous issue, they are doing it with filibustering. They have more 
votes than we have. They control what happens on the floor most of the 
time, and they are not letting us vote on this amendment. The majority 
doesn't want to embarrass the White House, so they are content to sit 
on their hands and have the Iraqi Government over there talking about 
granting amnesty to those who kill Americans.
  The President said he looked Prime Minister al-Maliki in the eye and 
said he is OK, ``I looked him in the eye.'' Well, I hope he saw in that 
eye the fact that this man was willing to grant amnesty to Iraqis who 
killed Americans. It is not an eye that I think the American people 
think is appropriate--amnesty for the killers of American troops. But 
it appears that the majority is willing to do this even if it 
jeopardizes our soldiers serving in Iraq by giving terrorists who want 
to attack them a get-out-of-jail-free card.
  We can do a lot better than that. Let's put the excuses aside and do 
the right thing before another day passes. Let's join together and pass 
this amendment.

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