[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 48 (Thursday, March 19, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H3682-H3683]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE IRAQ WAR: THE ROAD AHEAD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, first let me rise to commend 
Congressman Keith Ellison and the Progressive Caucus for organizing 
Special Orders each and every week. In fact, later this evening there 
will be one held to talk about the 6-year anniversary of the war and 
occupation of Iraq. So I rise today to talk about this very briefly.
  Six years ago, President George W. Bush launched our Nation into one 
of the most disastrous, misguided, and dangerous military actions in 
our history, the initial invasion and proceeding occupation of Iraq. 
Now, as the new administration seeks to withdraw troops from Iraq, it 
is essential that the media, the public, and those of us in elected 
office support these efforts.
  However, this time, no matter how uncomfortable it may be for those 
of us who fully support President Obama--who himself opposed the 
invasion from the beginning--we must hold our Iraq policy accountable 
and demand answers to tough questions regarding how and when our 
occupation will end.
  Last month, to his credit, and we applaud his efforts, President 
Obama laid forth a timeline for the withdrawal of our military presence 
in Iraq. His proposal would have two-thirds of our troops home by 
August of 2010, with the remaining force of approximately 35,000 to 
50,000 scheduled to leave by the end of 2011, almost 3 years from now. 
His announcement received praise from both sides of the political 
aisle; however, I think that we still need to talk about and have an 
honest and frank discussion of its merits and potential faults.
  Americans seem, collectively, to try to forget about Iraq, but we 
must remember that this is costing us $10 billion a month in this 
economic recession. And while we recognize, appreciate, and applaud the 
President's decision, his declaration allows us to move forward and 
focus on other issues. And so what we are trying to do is make sure 
that we are focused on our comprehensive foreign and military policy at 
the same time that we are working on our economic and domestic front. 
While this reaction, of course, is understandable because people are 
suffering each and every day as a result of the last 8 years, it is 
also dangerous. We cannot afford to ignore the enormous

[[Page H3683]]

risks and potential sacrifices that loom ahead.
  As one of the founders of the Out of Iraq Caucus, along with 
Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, our 
position has been clear all along; we opposed the war and the 
occupation from the start, and we have worked day in and day out to end 
it.
  We believe that ending the occupation of Iraq means redeploying all 
troops--and we mean all troops--and all military contractors out of 
Iraq. It also means leaving no permanent bases, and renouncing any 
claim upon Iraqi oil.
  We remain concerned about the plan, which calls for 127,000 troops to 
stay in Iraq until the end of this year and for 35,000 to 50,000 troops 
to remain in Iraq for another 2\1/2\ years after that. We cannot 
imagine the need for such an enormous military commitment, and we have 
talked to military experts who also question that.
  How did the military planners agree on such a large residual for us, 
one which is comparable in size to our force levels in South Korea at 
the height of the Cold War? What role does this transitional force play 
in the event that violence flares back up? And what steps are being 
taken to address the 190,000 American contractors in Iraq, and to 
dismantle our permanent bases? Some say we don't have permanent bases 
there, others believe that we do--I am one who believes that we do. And 
so these questions must be addressed before we can move forward. We 
respectfully wrote to the President and set forth a set of questions 
asking some of the looming concerns which some of us still have.
  America's interests in Iraq and the region will best be advanced by 
reducing the size of our military footprint and making greater use of 
other assets of national power, including diplomacy, reconciliation, 
commerce, development assistance, and humanitarian aid.
  As we solemnly mark the beginning of a seventh year--and it's hard to 
imagine we have been there 7 years--of the conflict in Iraq, we not 
only must reflect on the incredible sacrifices made by the men and 
women who serve in the military, but also, we have to demand an honest 
assessment of the potential future obstacles that their brothers and 
sisters in arms will face. As President Obama has said, ``We must be as 
careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in.''

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