[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18172-18173]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      AMERICA CALLS FOR THE TRUTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to acknowledge the groundswell 
of support for an investigation into whether or not the Bush 
administration made its case for war against Iraq. As proof of the 
growing demand for honest answers from the Bush administration, we need 
look no further than the support around the country to create an 
independent commission to investigation whether the Bush administration 
manipulated and distorted evidence to take the country to war in Iraq.
  Now, over 300,000 people have signed this petition and hundreds of 
thousands of people commented. Of course, I received thousands of 
letters from my own district, but tonight I would like to read into the 
Record just some of the over 24,000 comments received from outside of 
my district in the State of California.

       The credibility of this administration in front of the 
     American public and the world at large is our most precious 
     commodity. We must know the truth as soon as possible.

  This came from Arcadia, California.

       I am writing to you as a concerned citizen of this country. 
     I believe that we are heading down a very dangerous and 
     destructive path that is being led by the Bush 
     administration. This country is no more special than all of 
     the countries in the world, and American citizens are just as 
     important as Iraqi citizens. Our actions are not preventing 
     hostility, but I believe it is creating more violence and 
     anger towards America. It is the outrage that stems from 
     within that compels me to write to you and ask you to look 
     into this matter and not merely dismiss it as another policy 
     move.

  Again, Arcadia, California.
  This one comes from Dublin, California.
       As a member of a military family, I am deeply concerned any 
     time a President chooses to send our Armed Forces into danger 
     zones. I have been appalled by the growing evidence that the 
     President may have lied about the reasons for invading and 
     conquering Iraq and fear that many lives may have been lost 
     because of deliberate falsehoods.

  From Pleasanton, California:

       The credibility of the United States is at stake. Our new 
     preemptive war policy is incredibly dangerous and will result 
     in many innocent lives lost until decisions for war are based 
     on reality. Invading another country should be a very serious 
     act. We did it. Our military performed well. But our 
     President still needs to remain accountable to the United 
     States citizens. Please ensure full disclosure is made on 
     this matter.

       By the way, this individual goes on to say, I am a 
     Republican, but I still think that the Presidency must be 
     accountable to people.

  Another one from Pleasanton, California:

       Leading America into its first war based on a preemptive 
     strike doctrine and against strong international opposition 
     was the most serious act President Bush has committed.

[[Page 18173]]

     Now there is serious doubt that his justification was honest. 
     A democracy can only function if all of these suspicions can 
     be examined and proven either correct or wrong. You can only 
     keep America a democracy if you support the establishment of 
     this commission.

  Again, from Pleasanton, California:

       Nothing could be less patriotic, more disregardful of the 
     safety of our troops or more injurious to our national 
     security than invading a country under false pretenses. If 
     the Bush administration lied to us, we have a right, and a 
     need, to know.

  Pleasanton.
  Here is one from Lodi, California:

       Our involvement in Iraq has caused the region to become 
     even more unstable. We owe it to ourselves and the world to 
     investigate this matter and put every effort forth to unearth 
     the truth. President Clinton was impeached for lying about 
     sexual involvement with an aide. Evidence is coming to light 
     that Bush and his administration have lied to the world and, 
     to date, little is being done about it. I ask you, which 
     infraction is more serious and warrants our time and money 
     for investigation?

  Again, Lodi, California.
  Here is one from Tracy, California, Mr. Speaker:

       The responsibility of sending young men and women into 
     harm's way should not be taken lightly. It is to this end 
     that I ask you to support a review of pre-war intelligence. I 
     ask this as a former soldier and a member of the district of 
     Tracy, California. I live on Central Avenue which runs 
     through the downtown of Tracy and was lined with yellow 
     banners embroidered with the names of our community's sons 
     and daughters sent to fight in Iraq. You represent those men 
     and women, they wrote to their Member of Congress, and their 
     families and, he said, you owe it to them and to us to 
     investigate why exactly they are fighting this war. Yes, it 
     is still a war.

  Here is one from Thousand Oaks, California, in southern California:

       Our country was taken to war with Iraq on the premise that 
     we were under imminent threat by Iraq's weapons of mass 
     destruction. Now, months later, after many deaths on both 
     sides, we have yet to find any real evidence of these weapons 
     that the administration had such ``hard evidence'' of. In 
     order for the people's confidence in this administration to 
     be restored, I am asking you to let us know the truth by 
     endorsing an independent probe into this matter.

  Here is one from San Diego:

       If we continue to make war based on misinformation, we will 
     regret it as we did in Vietnam. What is done is done in Iraq, 
     but we should be honest enough to look at the truth.

  Now, here is another one from La Mesa, California, in southern 
California:
       Our system is based on the truth, the whole truth, and 
     nothing but the truth. Once we feel that we are betrayed by 
     our leaders and that they are not telling us the truth, the 
     whole system might collapse. We paid millions of dollars to 
     investigate the previous President because he lied about his 
     private life. Therefore, it is worth our effort and money to 
     investigate the current President and find out if he lied 
     about taking our country to war. Certainly we need to know 
     how the President used false evidence in his State of the 
     Union speech to make his case for war. Please form an 
     investigation committee and bring out the truth.

  Here is one, Mr. Speaker, from Huntington Beach, California, again in 
southern California:
       Isn't it time we got to the bottom of this embarrassment? 
     It is obvious at this point that there were serious 
     distortions given to the American people regarding the 
     necessity for war with Iraq. As a matter of fact, it might be 
     more important to look at why the distortions were necessary 
     at all. Why was it so important to go to war with Iraq that 
     lies had to be used? A lot of time, money, and lies have been 
     spent on this charade and it seems, in due course, that the 
     Bush administration should receive the same grilling that 
     Tony Blair has gotten over the same issues.

  Mr. Speaker, believe me, these individuals throughout the State of 
California believe that this is a matter of national security and 
national integrity to explore these questions. They want an independent 
commission to establish an investigation.

                          ____________________