[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 52 (Thursday, April 3, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H1994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        LET'S DO THE RIGHT THING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of the 
death of Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was one of the world's 
greatest champions of peace. He said, ``We must find an alternative to 
war and bloodshed.'' He often quoted President Kennedy, who said, 
``Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.''
  Unfortunately, the administration today seems to have a different 
point of view when it comes to war. Take, for example, President Bush's 
video conference with our military and civilian personnel in 
Afghanistan last month. The President told them the following, and I 
quote: ``I must say, I'm a little envious. If I were slightly younger 
and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be 
on the front lines in Afghanistan. It must be exciting for you, in some 
ways romantic, confronting danger.''
  Mr. Speaker, I am shocked that the Commander-in-Chief believes that 
war is some sort of romantic adventure. It isn't. War is hell. War, as 
President Kennedy said, could put an end to all mankind. Just ask the 
millions of Iraqis who have been forced to flee their homes since our 
occupation of their country began over 5 years ago.
  The U.N. recently reported that the number of internally displaced 
Iraqis has soared to more than 2.77 million people. More than a million 
of them do not have adequate shelter. More than 300,000 of them do not 
have access to clean water.
  Another 2 million Iraqis have been forced to become refugees in other 
countries, where they're called guests. And the conditions are as bad, 
or worse, because guests cannot go to work in a foreign country.
  Life isn't very good for Iraqis who have stayed at home either. ABC 
News has reported that sizable majorities of Iraqis say they don't have 
electricity, they don't have fuel, clean water, medical care, or jobs.
  And if anyone still thinks that war is a romantic adventure, I urge 
them to learn about an organization called Iraq Veterans Against the 
War. Recently, this group held a 4-day conference where veterans of the 
conflicts of Iraq and Afghanistan spoke about their experiences. These 
veterans gave very frank accounts of the bloodshed and destruction that 
they experienced or saw with their own eyes. Their descriptions of 
combat are heartbreaking. They are too graphic to describe here.
  Let me just say that they do not agree with their Commander-in-Chief 
that their time on the front lines was a fantastic experience. It was 
more like a living nightmare that may be with them forever.
  Anyone who is interested can see videos of these veterans' testimony 
on the Internet. There you will see brave young American men and women 
who went into the military because they wanted to make our country and 
the world safer. They were ready to sacrifice their lives for that 
cause. But when they saw the consequences and the inconsistencies and 
the horrors of this war, they decided to speak out. They are men and 
women of conscience who now oppose policy in Iraq because of the harm 
that it is doing to that country, to its people, and to our own 
military.
  That, Mr. Speaker, is why we must move forward with the responsible 
redeployment of our troops out of Iraq. The administration will never 
do it, obviously. They've seen too many John Wayne movies, and must 
think that war is exciting, it must be romantic, something to be 
envied, because that's what they say.
  So it is up to us in Congress to use our power of the purse to say, 
we will give you the money to safely bring our troops out, but we will 
not, we will not give you another penny to continue this occupation.
  Two-thirds of the American people, Mr. Speaker, think that the 
occupation was wrong to begin with. They're right.
  So let us honor Dr. Martin Luther King. Let us honor the American 
people by doing what they know is right. End it.




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