[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 8598]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       IRAQ WAR ACCOUNTABILITY AND LACK OF OVERSIGHT IN THE HOUSE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague who previously 
spoke, and I really do not understand why he says what he says. There 
is no reason why any Member of this House of Representatives should not 
speak the truth. The Iraq war is unwinnable, it has been a total 
failure, and if we recognize that fact, then we will not continue to 
make the same mistakes.
  Now, that is not to suggest that there is not an exit strategy or a 
way of leaving Iraq that will not accomplish some goals and that will 
not perhaps make the situation for the Iraqis better. But for us to sit 
around here and suggest that somehow the conduct of this war by the 
President or the Vice President or the Secretary of Defense is helping 
the cause is simply not true, and we have to speak out and say that.
  Since the very beginning, with its refusal to truly internationalize 
the war, the Bush administration has shown nothing but arrogance 
towards anyone outside its inner-circle, whether that be Congress or 
the international community; and, unfortunately, the administration is 
now paying the price and our U.S. troops in Iraq are paying with their 
lives.
  There seems to be a sense from Republicans here in Congress that 
anyone who questions the actions of the Bush administration is not 
supporting our troops. But, Mr. Speaker, when are congressional 
Republicans going to realize that President Bush and Vice President 
Cheney and Secretary Rumsfeld simply cannot conduct this war, they do 
not know how?
  How many more months should we sit by silently enduring the kind of 
month that we had in April? How many more months can we ignore the fact 
that the minuscule amount of international support we once had in Iraq 
continues to shrink? How many more months are we supposed to sit by 
silently and not question the Bush administration on why it did not 
develop a post-Saddam plan before going to war?
  It is time that someone is held accountable in this administration, 
and it is time for the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, to 
resign.
  Mr. Speaker, on the issue of Iraq, Republicans here in the House of 
Representatives stand by obediently, wrapping themselves in the 
American flag, but refusing to ever question any action taken by the 
Bush administration. Now with the unveiling of these deplorable 
pictures of abuse from Iraq, House Republicans once again obediently 
followed their leader, President Bush.
  Today, House Democrats called on this House to oversee the Bush 
administration and investigate these awful abuses. In the other 
Chamber, Secretary Rumsfeld is scheduled to testify tomorrow on his 
role in the abuses committed by a few American interrogators. I would 
imagine my colleagues over in the other Chamber will ask Secretary 
Rumsfeld why he never mentioned these pictures during a visit to 
Capitol Hill last week, hours before they would appear on the CBS News 
Magazine.
  I would imagine my colleagues over in the other Chamber will ask 
Secretary Rumsfeld why he never bothered to read the Taguba report, 
even though it had been on his desk for more than a month before these 
outrageous instances of abuse finally came to light on CBS news.
  Mr. Speaker, these are valid questions; and they should not only be 
asked in the U.S. Senate. It is time congressional House Republicans 
take their oversight responsibilities seriously and call on Secretary 
Rumsfeld to come over here to the House and answer these questions.
  Earlier this week, when the Republican majority leader, the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. DeLay), was asked whether or not he called for an 
investigation into the abuse of prisoners in Iraq, the gentleman 
responded, ``A full-fledged investigation, that is like saying we need 
hearings on every case of police brutality, and I do not think they are 
warranted.''
  Well, Mr. Speaker, for the majority leader to minimize the abuses 
committed in Iraq does nothing to help our troops in Iraq. The Congress 
must show the Arab world that it takes this issue seriously, so we can 
save the lives of American troops in the future.
  Mr. Speaker, if we truly want to support our troops in combat, the 
U.S. House of Representatives must oversee actions of the Bush 
administration. Failing that, in my opinion, we are failing our troops.

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