[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 112 (Tuesday, September 12, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9322-S9323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: September 12, 2006 (Senate)]
[Page S9322-S9323]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr12se06-158]
PRESIDENT'S 9/11 SPEECH
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I was honored to join with President Bush
and others at the Pentagon yesterday to commemorate the fifth
anniversary of 9/11. I was pleased, also to join my colleagues on the
east steps of the Capitol last evening in an emotional tribute to those
who died on that fateful day 5 years ago.
Mr. President, 9/11 was one of the darkest days of this Nation's
history. It brought America together. We were inspired by the bravery
of our fellow Americans. We stood shoulder to shoulder with the
President. And when he stood upon the mound of rubble at Ground Zero,
with a bullhorn in hand, he spoke for all of us.
Last night, however, the President, in his address to the Nation,
spoke for himself, for his administration, and not for the Nation. No
bullhorn, only the bully pulpit of his office, which he used to defend
an unpopular war in Iraq and to launch clumsily disguised barbs at
those who disagree with his policies.
By focusing on Iraq in the manner he did, the President engaged in an
all-too-familiar Bush administration tactic: conflate and blur the war
in Iraq with the response to 9/11.
Despite definitive and repeated findings that there were no ties
between Iraq and al-Qaida--a finding most recently echoed by the
Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee--the President
continued to deliberately lump and blur al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden,
Iraq, and 9/11 together.
This is a political move designed to tap the overwhelming public
sentiment to destroy al-Qaida as a way to bolster sagging public
support for the war in Iraq.
Despite the President's best efforts, the American people can see
through this ploy--as we have seen with the pundits' comments following
his speech and editorials all across the country today. The American
people understand that Iraq is largely a sectarian struggle and that
the longer we are bogged down in the streets of Baghdad, the easier it
is for al-Qaida and its affiliates to reconstitute in places such as
Afghanistan and Somalia.
Americans understand that this administration's ``stay the course''
strategy is hurting our security and moving Iraq in the wrong
direction. Unemployment in Iraq is high. It is 40 to 50 percent
unemployment, at least. Some places, it is 70 and 80 percent.
News accounts today say that inflation is now 75 percent in Iraq. An
average of a thousand Iraqis are dying each month in Iraq. Is that a
civil war? I think so. News accounts, the last couple of days--one, in
fact, today said: ``Iraq conflict worsens.'' The General Accounting
Office, the watchdog of Congress, a nonpartisan organization, said that
the Iraq conflict worsens.
We heard two days ago an Army general saying that the Anbar province
is lost. We have a general, even before he
[[Page S9323]]
is retired, saying that Secretary Rumsfeld said he would fire anyone
who tried to develop a plan after the soldiers went into Iraq. He would
fire them. There was no planning as to how the peace would take place.
The American people deserved better last night. They deserved a break
from the politics that honored the spirit of 9/11, a chance to reclaim
that sense of unity, purpose, and patriotism which swept through our
country 5 years ago--feelings only the Commander in Chief could have
inspired, that he should have tried to inspire. He didn't. Last night
was not the time for a political partisan speech. Sadly, it was a
missed opportunity for President Bush, who obviously was more consumed
by staying the course in Iraq and playing election year partisan
politics than changing the direction for this wonderful country.
I yield the floor.
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