[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 194 (Friday, December 16, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2297]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      ENDING AMERICA'S WAR IN IRAQ

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                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 16, 2011

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, President Obama deserves tremendous credit 
for ending America's war in Iraq, honoring his commitment to bring all 
U.S. troops home by the end of 2011. As commander-in-chief he has 
always set the appropriate course of action in Iraq while always 
honoring the service and sacrifice of our troops and our military 
families.
  The Iraq War has been a tragedy for far too many American and Iraqi 
families. The human costs of this war--in deaths, suffering, and 
permanent loss--cannot be calculated. U.S. troops served and fought 
with a profound sense of duty to our country. For this, all Americans 
should be grateful. The family members and loved ones of our brave 
troops also endured tremendous sacrifices that can never be repaid. 
Those selfless Americans who sacrificed their lives and bodies in 
service to our country, must always be remember them and Congress must 
always fulfill the promises it has made to our veterans and their 
families.
  At home we cannot ignore the war's other costs. The Iraq War directly 
added $800 billion to the nation's debt--a bill that will be paid by 
our children and grandchildren. Meeting the long-term health care needs 
of Iraq war veterans will require hundreds of billions more for decades 
to come and that's an obligation Congress must never balk at paying.
  Over the past nine years, my opposition to this war has been well 
known. Iraq was a war of political choice, not strategic necessity. 
While Iraq is no longer ruled by a dictator, the human price the Iraqi 
people paid in death, destruction, violence, and misery casts a very 
dark shadow over their country's future.
  In the final analysis, America's war in Iraq was a strategic and 
human tragedy that must never be repeated. Now, as armchair generals in 
their disgraced neo-conservative pinstripes plot a new misadventure, 
this time with Iran, the American people must not be deceived, not be 
driven by fear, and not yield to another expensive and painful war of 
choice.
  Mr. Speaker, I request the attached New York Times editorial 
regarding the end of America's war in Iraq entitled ``A Formal End'' be 
included.

                [From the New York Times, Dec. 15, 2011]

                              A Formal End

       It is a relief that the American role in the misguided Iraq 
     war is finally over. It came to an official close on Thursday 
     with an appropriately subdued ceremony in Baghdad. We mourn 
     the nearly 4,500 American troops and tens of thousands of 
     Iraqis who lost their lives.
       After so much pain and sacrifice, Iraqis now have the 
     responsibility for making their own better future. The 
     fighting is not over, and success is still a long shot. The 
     United States has a major role to play: encouraging, 
     supporting and goading Iraq's leaders to make the long-
     delayed political compromises that are their only hope for 
     building a stable democracy.
       The fact that Saddam Hussein is gone is a genuine cause for 
     celebration. But the list of errors and horrors in this war 
     is inexcusably long, starting with a rush to invasion based 
     on manipulated intelligence.
       The Bush administration had no plan for governing the 
     country once Saddam was deposed. The Iraqi economy still 
     bears the scars from the first frenzied days of looting. The 
     decision to disband the Sunni-dominated Iraqi Army helped 
     unleash five years of sectarian strife that has not fully 
     abated. Iraq's political system remains deeply riven by 
     ethnic and religious differences.
       America's reputation has yet to fully recover from the 
     horrors of Abu Ghraib. The country is still paying a huge 
     price for President George W. Bush's decision to shortchange 
     the war in Afghanistan. American policy makers, for 
     generations to come, must study these mistakes carefully and 
     ensure that they are not repeated.
       As for Iraq today, the authoritarian tendencies of Prime 
     Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki are deeply troubling. A member 
     of the Shiite majority that was badly persecuted under 
     Saddam, he has been far more interested in payback than 
     inclusion.
       Washington has pushed him over the years--but, often, not 
     hard enough.
       The Baghdad government promised jobs to 100,000 members of 
     the Sunni Awakening movement--insurgents whose decision to 
     switch sides helped end the civil war--but only half that 
     have been hired. Parliament still needs to enact a law, 
     called for in the Constitution, that would provide a legal 
     basis for determining who should be prosecuted for supporting 
     Saddam's Baath Party or other extremist ideologies. Iraq's 
     leaders have many more issues to resolve. Incredibly, they 
     have still not decided how to divide the country's oil 
     wealth. There is no agreement on who will control the oil-
     rich city of Kirkuk, which is claimed by both Baghdad and the 
     semiautonomous Kurdish regional government.
       Iraq's oil production still has not rebounded, and basic 
     services like electricity are still woefully inadequate. Iraq 
     needs an impartial justice system. Washington has pressed 
     Baghdad for years to end corruption and build a 
     representative government. It will need to keep pressing.
       After investing billions of dollars, the United States has 
     had more success rebuilding Iraq's security forces. But Iraqi 
     and American commanders say these forces are not ready to 
     fully protect the country against insurgents or potentially 
     hostile neighbors. There are critical weaknesses in 
     intelligence, air defenses, artillery and logistics.
       The Obama administration was unable to reach a new defense 
     agreement with Baghdad that would have allowed several 
     thousand American troops to stay behind as backup. We hope 
     that the Iraqi Army will do better than expected. The 
     administration must be prepared to offer limited help if the 
     army does get into serious trouble.
       President Obama, who first ran for office campaigning 
     against the war, has never wavered on his promise to bring 
     the troops home. The last few thousand will be out of Iraq by 
     year's end. We celebrate their return. But this country must 
     never forget the intolerable costs of a war started on 
     arrogance and lies.

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