[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 71 (Thursday, May 1, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3654-S3655]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  ``MISSION ACCOMPLISHED'' ANNIVERSARY

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, 5 years ago today, President Bush stood on 
the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in front of a banner that said 
``Mission Accomplished'' and he told the Nation that major combat 
operations ended in Iraq. Those were his words. Now, listening to the 
radio reports today, I hear that the President's Press Secretary, Dana 
Perino, said we all--all of America--misunderstood. He didn't really 
mean the mission in Iraq was accomplished; he was just talking about 
the fact that the particular aircraft carrier on which he landed, that 
they had done their mission and that was accomplished.
  I don't even know how to react to that. It is beneath the dignity of 
a White House Press Secretary to reach in that fashion. I will tell you 
why. I read the speech the President made in its entirety, and I don't 
see one thing that talks about a mission accomplished by the USS 
Abraham Lincoln, the carrier--not one word, not one thing.
  I thought to myself: What would that be like? I thought: Maybe it is 
as if the Presiding Officer or I were giving a speech on health care, 
and behind us

[[Page S3655]]

we had a big banner and the speech was televised and it said: Health 
care for all. Health care for all. We gave a speech, and then a few 
days later someone who saw the speech said: Senator, I am really 
annoyed about your speech. You said health care for all. I already have 
my health care. I don't like your system. Leave me out of it.
  And I responded in this way: I didn't mean anyone outside this room. 
I only meant the people I was speaking to in the room--even though I 
had a sign that said: Health Care For All.
  So please, please, let's not make matters worse by distorting the 
truth any more than it has already been distorted from day one of this 
national nightmare.
  What else did the President say on that aircraft carrier that day 5 
years ago today? He said: Other nations in history have fought in 
foreign lands and remain to occupy and exploit. Americans following a 
battle--
  Listen:

       Americans following a battle want nothing more than to 
     return home. Americans following a battle want nothing more 
     than to return home.

  He said:

       That is your direction tonight.

  Five years ago, the President said we won the battle; it is time to 
go home. Where are we 5 years later? I just heard 48 deaths last month, 
which is the highest in 6 months. Since that day 5 years ago, 3,922 
troops have died in Iraq, including 796 either from or based in 
California, and almost 30,000 have been wounded. We have spent more 
than a half billion dollars, and there is no end in sight.
  When the President made his declaration, the price of oil was $26 per 
barrel. It now stands at $113 per barrel. Remember, the oil was 
supposed to pay for the war. Remember. Don't forget, the oil was 
supposed to pay for the war. That is what the administration told us.
  The words, ``Mission Accomplished,'' no matter how somebody tries to 
torture it, have come to symbolize the dishonesty and the incompetence 
that took our Nation into an ill-advised war of choice--a war with a 
price in terms of lives and treasure and our Nation's standing in the 
world only grows higher and higher and higher with each passing day. We 
cannot afford it.
  We recognize the words, ``Mission Accomplished,'' as part of a sad 
and familiar pattern, another verse in the same song from the people 
who warned us the smoking gun could be a mushroom cloud. Remember when 
Secretary Rice said the smoking gun could be a mushroom cloud, even as 
they knew it wasn't true. They assured us we would be greeted as 
liberators. They swore we would be turning the corner and that the 
insurgency was in its last throes.
  Then they said, when we asked why isn't this war over: Well, we need 
to train enough Iraqis, and when they stand up, we will stand down. We 
have spent so much training the Iraqis--I want to make sure I am right 
on this--$20 billion we have spent training over 400,000 Iraqis.
  I asked General Petraeus: How many al-Qaida are there?
  He said: Very few left, a few thousand maybe--not even.
  I asked General Petraeus: How many insurgents are there?
  He said: In the thousands.
  We have trained over 400,000 Iraqi soldiers, but our troops are still 
dying instead of playing a support role as they should.
  I wish to talk about the money that we, the taxpayers, are spending. 
We are spending $10 billion a month in Iraq. That is $2.5 billion a 
week. That is $357 million a day. Now, remember, this is all borrowed 
money and the cost of this is going right to the debt that our 
grandchildren and their children will have on their backs. The 
President's policy is being paid for on a credit card, and we are 
sticking future generations with the bill. That is irresponsible and 
immoral.
  We don't have a plan to get out of Iraq 5 years after ``Mission 
Accomplished.'' Everybody says this war cannot be won through military 
means; it has to be won through political means. Yet we sit back, and 
the Government in Iraq makes very little progress, and they know, 
because of this President and this administration, they don't have a 
price to pay for not being effective. They don't pay a price for that, 
for not solving this politically. They don't pay any price because we 
are going to be there, and the blood and treasure of this country is on 
the line.
  The President says: Iran and al-Qaida are our biggest enemies. The 
President of Iraq holds hands with Ahmadinejad of Iran. They kiss each 
other on the cheek. We spend this money, we lose these lives, our 
President says Iran is our biggest enemy alongside al-Qaida, and we 
just keep on sending the money to a government that embraces Iran.

  Now, I don't care how you figure this out, it doesn't add up to me. 
For less than the cost of 3 months in Iraq, we could enroll every 
eligible child in the Nation in the Head Start Program for a year. For 
3 months in Iraq, that is what we could do for our children, and we 
know the waiting list is long.
  For 2 weeks in Iraq we could provide health insurance for 6 million 
uninsured children for a whole year. The list goes on.
  For 7 days in Iraq we could enroll 2.5 million kids in afterschool 
programs. For 6 weeks in Iraq we could ensure full interoperability of 
all of our communications systems. We are not protected in America 
because we don't give our emergency workers the interoperability they 
need. For the cost of 6 weeks in Iraq we could do that. Oh, no.
  For 3 weeks in Iraq we could extend the renewable energy production 
tax credit for 4 years and see jobs from solar and wind and geothermal 
energy. We could extend 13 additional weeks of unemployment insurance 
in this recession for 1 month in Iraq. The list goes on.
  We have given so much on this 5-year anniversary. It is time for a 
change in this country. We need to tell the Iraqis we will stand behind 
them, but we are not going to stand in front of them, and we are not 
going to continue to pay these enormous costs. Our country cannot 
afford it.
  I thank you, and I yield the floor.

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