[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 25490]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           SMART SECURITY AND ROOT CAUSES OF IRAQI INSURGENCY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, not all Members of Congress supported the 
war in Iraq, but we all have to live with its consequences. The global 
havoc wreaked by this war will affect the world in ways that we can 
only imagine today.
  Let us not forget that more than 1,200 American soldiers have been 
killed in Iraq. Over 9,000 have been wounded, and an estimated 16,000 
Iraqi civilians have been killed as a result of this war. In fact, 
16,000 is probably a very low estimate.
  The growing Iraqi insurgency, like the global War on Terror, cannot 
be won by being stronger than the insurgents. We cannot win this war 
with guns and bombs, because for every insurgent we kill, three more 
sign up. We have to be smarter than the insurgents. We are going to win 
this battle of conflicting ideologies only if we use our good senses 
and our good hearts.
  We know that the anger at the heart of the Iraqi insurgency stems 
from, at least in part, a deep resentment over the American presence in 
their country. After years of Saddam Hussein's totalitarian regime, the 
Iraqi people see the United States as just another occupying force.
  We have to make a choice in Iraq. Do we want to address the root 
causes of the insurgency or do we want to continue down our current 
path, shooting and bombing everything in sight and perpetually fighting 
a losing battle for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people?
  We must reopen the debate about the situation in Iraq to determine 
why our current policies are not working. We must figure out why the 
insurgency continues to grow despite our military efforts. Only through 
a robust, public dialogue can we begin to get to the bottom of these 
questions.
  To address the root cause of terrorism around the world, such as the 
current insurgency in Iraq, I have introduced H. Con. Res. 392, a SMART 
Security Resolution for the 21st Century. SMART stands for sensible, 
multilateral, American response to terrorism.
  SMART security calls for the United States to address the root causes 
of terrorism by engaging our United Nations partners, by engaging also 
the world humanitarian community and all of our United States allies in 
the international and civilian-led reconstruction and political 
transition processes that we are involved in.
  Can my colleagues imagine what Iraq might look like if, instead of 
rushing to invade the country, we had waited just a few months and 
continued to engage the rest of the world community in the weapons 
inspection process? We would have learned that Iraq did not possess 
weapons of mass destruction. We would have prevented the deaths of 
thousands of American troops and innocent Iraqi civilians.
  Imagine if, after the invasion, we had allowed other Nations and the 
U.N. to partner with the United States in engaging the Iraqis in the 
reconstruction program. We would not be faced with billions of dollars 
of debt because the finances of cleanup would have been offset by 
dozens of other donor Nations.
  SMART security calls for increased developmental aid for programs 
that are integrated with peace building and conflict prevention 
measures. Unfortunately, we are struggling to provide funds for Iraqi's 
development because we are too busy paying for military operations, and 
the insurgents are busy working against our every effort in that 
regard.
  Already, the White House has asked Congress to pilfer $3 billion from 
Iraq's reconstruction funds in order to pay for military operations. 
That request represents a complete failure to adequately plan and 
prepare for this war.
  Mr. Speaker, the United States must stop engaging in this reckless 
national security strategy, a strategy whose current path only 
encourages future terrorist activities.
  It is time we pursued a SMART security strategy for America, a 
strategy that will secure Iraq, a strategy that will keep America safe 
and secure for the future, because, if we do not, all we will be left 
with are the consequences of our current failed policies.

                          ____________________