[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 158 (Thursday, October 18, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE REGARDING WITHHOLDING OF INFORMATION 
                     RELATING TO CORRUPTION IN IRAQ

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 16, 2007

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, five years ago today, President George W. 
Bush signed into law the ``Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of 
United States Armed Forces Against Iraq,'' H.J. Res. 114.
  In the House, the bill passed on October 10, 2002, by a vote of 296-
133. I was one of 126 Democrats who voted against this grossly 
misguided bill, concluding that further diplomacy was needed over a 
U.S. military strike.
  And today--I remain unyielding in my stance that diplomacy, rather 
than military action is the answer to creating political reconciliation 
in Iraq.
  We must implement a diplomatic strategy that is framed upon the 
doorway of the U.N. and hinges on the Arab League, the Organization of 
the Islamic Conference, U.S. allies and the will of the Iraqi people.
  Mr. Speaker, as the Iraq Study Group concluded, a diplomatic strategy 
of gaining multilateral and bilateral support throughout the 
international community, especially with Iraq's neighboring states will 
help marginalize extremists and terrorists, promote U.S. values and 
interests, and improve America's global image.
  Unfortunately, to date, the President's new strategy is not a new 
strategy at all and continues the same failed plan that was utilized 
prior to the surge. His failed plan has resulted in over 3,800 U.S. 
soldiers being killed and over 27,000 American soldiers being wounded.
  Additionally, at least 150,000 of our service members have been 
victims of concussions, many of whom will suffer from life long 
injuries that have no medical or technological resolutions--including 
blindness, deafness, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain 
Injury. In the great State of Maryland alone, we continue to mourn the 
deaths of 70 service members and our prayers go out to over 392 brave 
men and women in uniform who suffer from wounds gained on the 
battlefield of Iraq.
  Mr. Speaker, as we look back over the last five years we can only 
point to meager accomplishments while the overwhelming factor that 
shatters the forefront of our memory is the onslaught of bloodshed, 
further internal and external displacement of the Iraqi people, further 
corruption of the Iraqi government and further strained relations in 
the Middle East due in large part to the President's stubborn course of 
military operations in Iraq.
  In fact, corruption within the Iraqi government is as bad as ever and 
has become what has been described by Stuart Bowen, the U.S. State 
Department's Special Inspector for Reconstruction in Iraq as a `second 
insurgency' threatening to undermine U.S. and Iraqi efforts to build a 
stable democracy. As concluded by the Iraqi Commission for Public 
Integrity, corruption cases have increased by a staggering 70 percent 
in the last year, despite the Administration's efforts to quell these 
concerns by layering them in bureaucratic red tape and retroactively 
labeling unwarranted information as being classified.
  As such, I congratulate my colleagues on passing H. Res. 734, which 
is a step in the right direction. Specifically, this legislation sends 
a strong message to the Administration that anti-democratic practices 
will not be tolerated. It also sends a message to the Iraqi Government 
that the U.S. Government will not sit idly by as Americans continue to 
sacrifice their lives at the expense of sustaining a mismanaged Iraqi 
Government.
  Considering the ongoing corruption in Iraq, it is clear that our 
military can not do what should be the job of ambassadors, foreign 
dignitaries and heads of state.
  As we look to the future, I hope that the Administration will shift 
from these failed policies in Iraq to a new policy that is 
fundamentally diplomatic and weighs heavily on the assistance of the 
international community.
  We owe this to our brave soldiers, their families and friends, the 
American people, and to the people of Iraq.

                          ____________________