[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 5 (Tuesday, January 15, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H8-H9]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMEMORATING THE 79TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER 
                               KING, JR.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, today marks the 79th anniversary of the 
birth of history's greatest champion of peace, Dr. King, who became the 
youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize when he received that 
great honor at age 35.
  At the King Center in Atlanta, visitors are asked to take a pledge 
that includes the words: ``I pledge to do everything I can to make 
America and the world a place where equality and justice, freedom and 
peace will grow and flourish.''
  Today, Madam Speaker, America needs to hear Dr. King's message of 
peace more than ever before, because our Nation's leaders continue to 
take reckless actions to put the world on the road to ever-widening 
conflicts. We have seen many new examples of warmongering in just the 
past few days and weeks. Twelve days ago, a leading Republican 
candidate for President said it would be fine for him if the American 
occupation of Iraq continued for another 100 years. Think about that. 
He would ask babies born 80 years from now to go to Baghdad for a 
commitment that the American people want to end right now.
  Now, President Bush continues his saber-rattling over Iran. Days ago, 
he warned that the world must take action against that country before 
it is too late. Isn't this a clear signal that the administration is 
still considering an attack against Iran, even though we know that it 
is not developing nuclear weapons that can threaten the United States?
  Therefore, as a lesson to be learned, we don't know all the facts 
about the

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incident with the Iranian boats yet; but until we know the whole story, 
I would advise my colleagues to be wary of coming to any conclusions 
too soon.
  And as if that weren't enough, the administration told us again that 
the occupation of Iraq will continue indefinitely, right into the next 
Presidency. But this morning we learned that it could last through 
several more Presidencies. The Iraqi defense minister was quoted in the 
press as saying that Iraq will not be able to take full responsibility 
for its internal security until the year 2012, nor responsibility for 
defending its borders until at least 2018. Yet, it has been over 2\1/2\ 
years since this administration announced that its strategy in Iraq is: 
as the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down. And it has been over a year 
since the President's famous surge speech where he said: ``I have made 
it clear that America's commitment is not open-ended.'' But, Madam 
Speaker, it is.
  Madam Speaker, America loses its moral authority every day that our 
occupation of Iraq continues. According to a study conducted by the 
Iraqi Government and the World Health Organization that was published 
last week, 151,000 Iraqis died of violence in the first 3 years of our 
occupation. The study also found that there was a 60 percent increase 
in nonviolent deaths in Iraq, including deaths from childhood 
infections.
  Martin Luther King understood that, if America is to lead the world, 
we must be more than a powerhouse; we must be a moral powerhouse.
  I ask my colleagues to devote this session of the 110th Congress to 
the responsible redeployment of our troops out of Iraq and the creation 
of a new foreign policy committed to the values that Dr. King espoused: 
equality and justice, freedom and peace.

                          ____________________