[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 70 (Tuesday, May 11, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H3298]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IRAQ'S MOST VIOLENT DAY OF THE YEAR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, Monday, yesterday, was the most violent 
day so far this year in Iraq. In what the Associated Press called a 
``relentless cascade of bombings and shootings,'' insurgents killed 
more than 100 people, not to mention hundreds of wounded and maimed, in 
a series of coordinated attacks. Both civilian and security forces came 
under siege: a bombing outside a restaurant in Kut province; another at 
the mayor's office in Tarmiya; another at a market in Suwayra; and 
security checkpoints throughout Baghdad hit by gunmen disguised as 
street cleaners.
  At a textile factory in the city of Hillah, the bombing was timed at 
the end of a shift, maximizing the bloodshed and the casualties. When 
people rushed to help the wounded, a suicide bomber detonated his 
explosives in the crowd, just adding to the carnage. According to the 
AP account, the wounded in Hillah could be heard cursing their 
government for its inability to protect them.
  A few years ago, you'll remember we were told the insurgency was in 
its ``last throes.'' But it is clearly capable of wreaking havoc--and 
doing so with precision and sophisticated planning. The continuing 
political instability in Iraq is contributing to the chaos, as the 
elections held more than 2 months ago have yet to produce a clear 
winner and a new government. There's real danger, Madam Speaker, that 
if the Sunnis are not given a stake in the new government, we could see 
the kind of sectarian strife bordering on civil war that exploded in 
Iraq just a few years ago.
  With most of the recent attention on Afghanistan, this onslaught 
serves as a chilling reminder of just how dangerous and unstable Iraq 
remains. Fear and violence remain a way of life. We can't become 
complacent, Madam Speaker. We can't forget about the role of the U.S.-
led military occupation and what role that played in inflaming the 
insurgency in the first place and in provoking these kinds of attacks. 
Much was made of the supposed blow to the insurgency when two leaders 
of al Qaeda in Iraq were killed last month. Yesterday's horror just 
goes to show that killing terrorists and killing militants just makes 
it easier for al Qaeda to recruit new ones.
  Just a few hours ago comes word that top officials are apparently 
drawing exactly the wrong conclusion for Monday's attacks. They're 
talking about slowing down the pace of the redeployment of our troops 
out of Iraq. What we need instead, Madam Speaker, is an acceleration of 
the redeployment plan, because our continued military presence is a key 
factor in motivating militants to acts of unspeakable terror. We're 
doing as much to engender violence as to tamp it down. We're doing as 
much to undermine security as we are to contributing to it. Only by 
ending our military occupation and replacing it with a civilian surge 
can we hope to foster peace, stability, and democracy in Iraq.
  The men and women of our armed services have performed their duties 
with honor and courage. They are not to blame for a failed policy, 
Madam Speaker. But for their safety and for the good of Iraq and for 
the good of the future of the Iraqi civilians and their country, let's 
bring our troops home.

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