[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 71 (Thursday, May 1, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H3001]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TRAGIC ANNIVERSARY OF ``MISSION ACCOMPLISHED''

  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, today marks a tragic anniversary. Five 
years ago President Bush delivered his infamous ``Mission 
Accomplished'' speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
  Across this country, Americans are holding rallies and vigils to mark 
this occasion. And members of the International Longshoremen and 
Warehouse Unions are giving up a day's pay and they are marching in the 
streets to show their opposition to the failed policies of the Bush 
administration and of the cost of those policies.
  We all remember that the President put on a green flight suit and 
white helmet and arrived in the copilot seat of a Navy Viking jet. Then 
he stood at a podium beneath a big ``Mission Accomplished'' banner and 
he spoke.
  He said the search for weapons of mass destruction had already begun, 
and he declared that ``major combat operations in Iraq have ended.''
  Obviously, the American people didn't get the real facts that day, 
Mr. Speaker. So here's what should have been said. He should have said: 
``My fellow Americans, our soldiers have performed with great skill and 
courage. But, frankly, the administration doesn't have a clue what to 
do next.''
  It didn't have a plan for the occupation. It didn't have an exit 
strategy. And the people who actually understand the history and 
culture of Iraq were warning us that there were going to be 
insurgencies and civil war. He should have said: ``Major combat 
operations have not ended--they have just begun.''
  Today I joined with my Out-of-Iraq Caucus colleagues, Maxine Waters 
and Barbara Lee, to send a Dear Colleague Letter that describes the 
terrible human cost of the bungling in Iraq. It shows that over 96 
percent of all American deaths in Iraq and over 98 percent of all 
casualties have taken place since the ``Mission Accomplished'' speech.
  But you don't have to look, Mr. Speaker, at the cumulative 
devastation of the past 5 years to know that the occupation is a 
disaster. Just look at what happened in April, April of 2008, last 
month: Fifty American soldiers died, the highest number in 7 months. 
Thousands of innocent civilians were killed or injured in the bloody 
battle at Sadr City which continues to rage. The Pentagon was forced to 
extend the ``stop-loss'' policy because our military is stretched to 
its limits.
  And as the administration acknowledged that al Qaeda is growing 
stronger in its safe havens in Pakistan, the drumbeat for war against 
Iran grew louder.
  Here at home, the occupation continues to be a factor in driving gas 
prices higher. The Iraq recession continues in full swing. And every 
week, billions of dollars continue to be spent on military operations 
in Iraq that are desperately needed for domestic programs right here.
  Sheer incompetence has surely been one reason for this. But the most 
important reason for our failure in Iraq is the fatally flawed national 
security policy. It has been a policy marked by arrogance, by the 
belief that America can go it alone and has the right to strike 
anywhere and anytime it pleases. And by the idea that military power 
alone can assure our security.
  I hope we will use this ``Mission Accomplished'' anniversary date in 
a positive way so we can learn the lessons of the past 5 years and 
dedicate ourselves to a new foreign policy that will serve us much 
better. This new policy must be based on diplomacy; international 
cooperation; the rule of law; rejection of the doctrine of preemption 
and the use of torture; and, a commitment to helping other nations of 
the world to build a better life for their citizens.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, on this ``Mission Accomplished'' day, we must 
ask ourselves: What is America's mission? The American people believe 
that our mission is to stand up for the values of democracy, for human 
rights, and for peace. Those are the values that the dock workers are 
standing up for today. Those are the values that have been ignored and 
predictably resulted in disastrous results.

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