[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 22419]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              TRIP TO IRAQ

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Madam Speaker, here is a quote: ``Victory means exit strategy, and 
it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit 
strategy is.''
  Those words were not spoken by a Member of Congress, not by a 
prominent opponent of the Iraq War. They were not even spoken about 
this President or this war. Those words were spoken in April, 1999, 
about President Clinton's military campaign in Kosovo, and they were 
spoken by a Republican Governor named George W. Bush.
  What a difference 6\1/2\ years makes because it is precisely an exit 
strategy that is missing from our Iraq policy. With 2,000 of their 
fellow citizens dead and 1 billion of their tax dollars being sent to 
Iraq every week, the American people have a right to some honest 
answers to some important questions like: What exactly defines victory? 
What are the benchmarks of success? What is the long-term plan? What 
does the end game look like?
  We are paying for this war in blood and money. My home district lost 
a 23-year-old soldier on Saturday. Why will the President not repay us 
with some honesty and transparency? Why does he insult us with empty 
platitudes about ``staying the course'' and ``staying in Iraq as long 
as it takes''?
  Madam Speaker, I had the privilege of traveling to Iraq last week 
with a few of my House colleagues. We were briefed by the commanders on 
the ground. We saw the military facilities, which I am happy to report 
are state of the art. The quality of our soldiers' medical care in 
particular is excellent as far as I could see. Good equipment and the 
best docs that one could have.
  The most rewarding and enlightening part of the trip was simply 
having meals and talking with the enlisted men and women, mostly those 
from California and particularly from my district north of the Golden 
Gate Bridge.
  Madam Speaker, these young people are the very best America has to 
offer. They are brave. They are intelligent. They are loyal, loyal to 
their country, to their mission and to each other. They are profoundly 
committed to this mission, even those who told me privately they do not 
support the policy that underlies it.
  These are genuine heroes whose courage and resolve are greater than 
our accolades can convey. We truly have the most capable military the 
world has ever known. So what is the problem?
  The problem is that we do not have leaders in Washington that are 
worthy of these fine soldiers. Our troops have not failed. They have 
been failed by their civilian superiors, those who sent them to Iraq on 
false pretenses, on a poorly defined mission without all the tools they 
needed and without a plan to get them out of there.
  This morning's speech from the President was the same old shopworn 
rhetoric: Terrorism bad, freedom good. We know that and we agree, but 
that alone does not justify an open-ended military commitment. What 
comes next? Do not tell us. Show us. Show us that there is some kind of 
long-term strategy to return Iraq to the Iraqi people and the troops to 
their families back home.
  If the President will not lead, then we will. Last month, I assembled 
a group of Middle East experts and military strategists to explore 
viable and compassionate exit strategies.

                              {time}  2130

  I do not have all the answers, and I am not prepared to endorse a 
single approach, but I have felt for many months now that it was about 
time we started this conversation about troop withdrawal and started 
throwing ideas out and on the table.
  Madam Speaker, our troops have endured enough sacrifice. We need to 
plan to bring them home.
  At the same time, we must give Iraq back to the Iraqi people through 
a range of economic, political, and humanitarian partnerships. The 
American people deserve better than the poor planning that has 
characterized every phase of this war, and the extraordinary men and 
women whom I met in Iraq most certainly deserve better. They deserve 
leaders as courageous and honorable as they are. In return for their 
unfailing loyalty, they deserve basic competence and integrity.

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