[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 125 (Friday, September 29, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H7906]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REGARDING IRAQI OIL REVENUES

  (Mr. EMANUEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, in March of 2003, Deputy Secretary of 
Defense Paul Wolfowitz said: We are dealing with a country, Iraq, that 
can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon.
  Well, I guess 3 years doesn't count as relatively soon. According to 
a new report by the Iraqi Special Inspector General, the Iraqi oil 
industry lost $16 billion because of violence, theft, and corruption. 
In fact, 3 years after Secretary Wolfowitz's confident predictions, 
Iraq is actually paying billions of dollars to import refined 
petroleum. Iraq is importing refined petroleum products.
  In the words of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, ``stuff 
happens.''
  Maybe if this Congress had questioned Wolfowitz on his calculations a 
little closer, maybe if the President had given the commanders on the 
ground the troops they needed, maybe if this Congress had conducted and 
sought accountability into Iraq's reconstruction, we wouldn't be 
dealing with quite so much ``stuff.'' But I guess under Republican 
leadership, you end up with the leadership you have, not the one you 
want.

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