[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 13, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H873]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ARMY CHOOSES TO KEEP CRITICAL REPORT SECRET
(Ms. WATSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute.)
Ms. WATSON. Madam Speaker, this week we learned that the Army refused
to release a report it commissioned from the RAND Corporation on the
mistakes made in the planning and the implementation of the Iraq war.
We all know that mistakes were made. However, it's important that the
Bush administration hear from independent voices exactly why the war in
Iraq did not go as the administration planned.
The RAND report, uncovered by the New York Times earlier this week,
chided both President Bush and then-National Security Adviser,
Condoleezza Rice, for not resolving differences between the State
Department and the Pentagon. It also highlighted the administration's
failure to develop a single national plan that integrated
``humanitarian assistance, reconstruction governance, infrastructure
development and postwar security.''
Madam Speaker, the Bush administration has a lot of lessons to learn
but refuses to listen to any independent critiques. I would hope the
administration would take this report seriously and would also conclude
that the status quo in Iraq cannot continue.
It's time that we bring our troops home.
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