[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 83 (Friday, May 28, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1002-E1003]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 27, 2010

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5136) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2011 for military 
     activities of the Department of Defense, to prescribe 
     military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
     other purposes:


[[Page E1003]]


  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Chair, I am pleased to offer an 
amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2011 that addresses the plight of Iraqis who have worked for the United 
States in Iraq and whose lives have been placed in grave danger for 
their service.
  Under the Status of Forces Agreement signed in November 2008, there 
is not ONE mention of Iraqis who have worked with the United States, 
which I find to be most unsettling.
  And while the December 2011 date for withdrawal of our troops seems 
far away, there is another benchmark of August 2010, when nearly 50,000 
troops will be withdrawn from Iraq, which will limit our ability to 
protect U.S.-affiliated Iraqis at risk.
  These U.S.-affiliated Iraqis have risked their lives to work 
alongside our troops, diplomats, and aid workers to help build a more 
stable and Democratic Iraqi committed to peaceful pluralism among both 
factions and sects. They are considered to be ``collaborators'' or 
``traitors'' by Al Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgent groups and many 
have paid the ultimate sacrifice for their work at the hands of these 
terrorists.
  I am increasingly concerned that the Obama administration has turned 
its focus away from this crisis. As we drawdown U.S. troops in Iraq, 
the thousands of Iraqis who work for our government and live on our 
bases will no longer have the security of our military once we are 
gone. The United States cannot turn its back at this critical juncture.
  An organization that I have had the privilege to work with over the 
past several years, The List Project to Resettle Iraqi Allies has done 
a remarkable job on this front in advocating for and providing pro bono 
representation to these courageous Iraqis at risk.
  The List Project's founder and executive director Kirk Johnson 
recently published a report entitled ``Tragedy on the Horizon: A 
History of Just and Unjust Withdrawal.'' It is a report that I would 
encourage all of my colleagues to read.
  In particular, the report discusses the withdrawal of British troops 
from southern Iraq two years ago and states, ``militias conducted a 
systematic manhunt for Iraqi employees of the U.K. In a single 
incident, 17 interpreters were publically executed, and reports 
surfaced of others dragged to their deaths behind cars through the 
streets of Basrah. To imagine this as an isolated experience ignores 
this history of withdrawal, a bloody and predictable churn of violence 
upon those who `collaborated' with the departing power.''
  Time is of the essence. We must put in place a plan to ensure that 
those Iraqis allies who have helped our country are protected. We have 
a moral obligation to do this, and we still have time to avert a 
crisis--but not a lot of time.
  Turning our backs now would be fatal for our Iraqi allies and would 
set a negative precedent for other theaters of war in particular 
Afghanistan where we need to win the loyal collaboration and hearts and 
minds of the population.
  This week marked a turning point, in that the number of troops in 
Afghanistan exceeded those in Iraq for the first time since 2003. 
Reports now suggest that Afghans working as interpreters for the United 
States are increasingly facing the same lethal risks endured by our 
Iraqi employees.
  We will be hard-pressed to find more help in Afghanistan if the 
United States is seen as quick to abandon its friends.

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