[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 47 (Monday, March 19, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H2639-H2640]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               REMARKS ON FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF IRAQ WAR

  (Ms. PELOSI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, as the war in Iraq enters its fifth year, we 
take time to reflect on those who have made the greatest sacrifices 
because of this war, our troops. We all salute them because of their 
courage, their patriotism and the sacrifices they are willing to make. 
They have done everything asked of them, and we are forever in their 
debt.
  That debt extends to their families, who have also made sacrifices. 
The missed family events, births of children, deaths of loved ones, 
graduations, anniversaries, birthdays are losses which cannot be 
replaced. We owe to these families a renewed commitment

[[Page H2640]]

to support them in whatever way may be required and to make sure that 
our troops have everything they need to do their job and to come home 
safely and soon.
  To those who have been wounded, our Nation has promised to care for 
you as you have protected us. This is a solemn promise, and it will be 
honored.
  The debt which can never be repaid is to those whose lives have been 
lost in the war, and as a Nation we mourn them. Their absence is felt 
each day, each and every one of them; but on this day in particular, 
their sacrifice should be remembered in a special way. I therefore 
salute our colleague, Congressman Patrick Murphy, for leading us in a 
moment of silence in memory of his colleagues who were lost in the war 
and all others as well.
  Mr. Speaker, 4 years ago today, our Nation launched a war of choice 
in Iraq. The war has claimed the lives of over 3,200 American troops 
and wounded tens of thousands more, some of them permanently.
  Any U.S. military engagement has to be judged in three ways: does it 
make our country safer, our military stronger, and the region in which 
we are engaged in the conflict more stable. The war in Iraq has failed 
on all three counts.
  In fact, the administration's policy in Iraq has diminished the 
safety of our country by reducing the strength of our military. The 
readiness has sunk now to levels lower than Vietnam, it has failed to 
hold the Iraqis accountable for the future of their own country, and it 
has dishonored our commitment to our veterans. It has cost billions of 
dollars and significantly damaged our reputation in the eyes of the 
world.
  When our young men and women are placed in danger, we owe it to them 
to provide them with the best training and equipment possible and a 
strategy worthy of their sacrifice.
  The generals have told us over and over again, across the board, 
generals on active duty, General Petraeus as recently as last week, and 
many retired generals: there is no military solution to the war in 
Iraq. It cannot be won solely militarily. Instead, we must leverage all 
of our political, economic, and diplomatic strengths.
  Again and again Senator Reid, the Democratic leader in the Senate, 
and I have urged President Bush to adopt a plan for Iraq that contains 
the following elements:
  Change the mission. Transition the mission from combat to training. 
That will enable us to responsibly redeploy our troops.
  Third, we must build consensus for political accommodation in Iraq. 
They must amend the constitution to be more inclusive to end the civil 
strife.
  Fourth, we must encourage a robust diplomatic effort, primarily 
involving Iraq's neighbors. The first meeting of neighbors was held. 
That is a good step. It was at a low level, appropriately, and now it 
has to move to the ministerial level.
  We then must reform and reinvigorate the reconstruction effort. $10 
billion is unaccounted for. $10 billion in thin air of the 
reconstruction effort is unaccounted for. How do we answer to the 
American taxpayer, when this war is costing $2 billion a week on the 
military side, and on the reconstruction side we can't account for the 
money?
  When we do this, when we transition, when we change the mission, 
redeploy the troops, build political consensus, engage in diplomatic 
efforts and reform and reinvigorate the reconstruction effort, then we 
can turn our attention to the real war on terror, in Afghanistan.
  I hear the voice of the future in the Chamber. What a beautiful 
sound. What a beautiful sound.
  Later this week, Mr. Speaker, we will debate a plan to bring the war 
to an end. The U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health and Iraq 
Accountability Act will rebuild our military, protect our troops, 
provide for our veterans and hold the Iraqi Government accountable.
  The benchmarks for the Iraqi Government set forth in this bill are 
the benchmarks endorsed by President Bush on January 10. They are: 
improvement in the performance of the Iraqi security forces; a greater 
commitment by the Iraqi Government to national reconciliation; and 
reductions in the level of sectarian violence in Iraq.
  After 4 years of war, it is reasonable to expect these benchmarks to 
be met this year. Four years. We are in this war longer than World War 
II. There is no end in sight. There is no end in sight. There is an 
unlimited commitment, with no strategy to match the sacrifice of our 
troops.
  Democrats will be offering later in the week, and hopefully with 
Republican support, we will pass a supplemental that will, that will, 
place a time frame. And I am really pleased that so many retired 
generals have come out in support of a time certain that relates to the 
performance that the President himself established, that the Iraqi 
Government themselves agreed to.
  This isn't anything we created. It is the President's benchmarks. The 
Iraqis agreed to it. We want to see progress. But if we don't, we will 
begin the redeployment of our troops out of Iraq in 6 months from that 
date. Then we will leave troops there for training, for protecting our 
diplomats, for fighting terrorism, for force protection, but only for 
those purposes.
  I welcome the debate over this bill and the opportunity it provides 
for Members of Congress to express themselves in what I consider is the 
greatest ethical challenge to our country, how we send our young men 
and women into battle; how we send them without the training, without 
the equipment, without the rest time at home, and overextend them when 
they are there.

                              {time}  1930

  How we send them into battle without plans to honor our commitment to 
them.
  In the military they say: On the battlefield, we will leave no 
soldier behind. We say: And when they come home, we will leave no 
veteran behind.
  Apparently our country, our great country, has to make a decision for 
greatness on how we are viewed in the world, on how we project our 
power and our ideals to make the world a more peaceful place, to honor 
our commitment to our troops, to honor our commitment to the future, 
and to honor the sacrifice and the vision of our Founding Fathers.
  This is a very important decision for our caucus, for our Congress, 
for our country, and I hope that the debate will be in the spirit as it 
was a few weeks ago. It was a great commitment to our troops with 
knowledge of substance, based on values and respecting the patriotism 
of each and every person who serves in the Congress.
  I know for certain as Speaker of the House that every single person 
who serves here is patriotic and wants to honor our veterans. I know 
for certain because I have seen every single person here take an oath 
of office to protect and defend our Constitution and our country. It is 
in that spirit that we offer this supplemental that makes America 
safer, that strengthens our military, and brings stability to the 
world.

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