[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[House]
[Pages 24028-24029]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   IRAQ AND THE REPUBLICAN DISSENTERS

  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, this morning we learned that Harriet Miers 
has withdrawn her nomination to the United States Supreme Court. The 
stated reason had to do with executive privilege for legal advice she 
had given to the President that she did not want to reveal, but I do 
not think you need to be an expert tea leaf reader to see that public 
support for Ms. Miers' appointment, particularly among conservatives, 
was scarce, actually absent. As a result, Ms. Miers decided to step 
aside.
  Perhaps there is a lesson here that we can apply to another 
initiative, an initiative of the White House that is rapidly losing 
public confidence. Two-and-a-half years into the Iraq War, it could not 
be clearer that the President's policy is one with tragic consequences. 
It is time for the President to admit his mistake and change his 
course. Over 2,000 of our brave soldiers are dead. That is 2,000 too 
many.
  The threat of terrorism has not diminished at all. We have lost 
respect and credibility with allies around the world. The insurgency 
remains as strong as ever and is further animated with every day that 
the American occupation continues.
  We are pouring about $1 billion a week into this fiasco, and, by the 
way, the original rationale for fighting this war, weapons of mass 
destruction, turns out to be based on fabrications and deceptions.
  What is the President waiting for? How much worse does it need to 
get? How many more casualties must we endure?
  Look, you do not have to take my word for it. The White House would 
like you to believe that opposition to the war exists on the fringes 
only, but the fact is that 66 percent of our people, two out of every 
three Americans, has a negative opinion of the way the President has 
handled Iraq. Apparently included in that two out of every three are 
former members of the administration and Bush family loyalists.
  Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as Colin Powell's Chief of 
Staff at the State Department, recently went public with his 
misgivings. He talks about a dysfunctional national security 
policymaking process, with decisions made secretively by a Cheney-
Rumsfeld cabal that was given free rein by a President who, as 
Wilkerson put it, ``is not versed in international

[[Page 24029]]

relations and not too much interested in them either.''
  The latest issue of The New Yorker magazine features a profile of 
Brent Scowcroft, a close friend and adviser to the President's father 
and mentor to Condoleezza Rice. Scowcroft was considered the hawk of 
the first President Bush's national security team, but in this article 
he is frank about his disillusionment with the current Iraq policy. He 
notes that you cannot impose democracy by force, that the Iraq War is 
breeding terrorism, and that Saddam did not represent a threat to the 
United States of America.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time to bring the troops home, and I feel even 
more strongly on this point after traveling to Iraq a few weeks ago.
  There is no shortage of ideas for possible exit strategies. For 
example, there are at least four good proposals right here on the floor 
of the House of Representatives, and on the other side of the Capitol, 
Senator Kerry and Senator Feingold have offered specific plans.
  I held a hearing just last month where a broad range of experts 
discussed ways we could end the occupation while keeping Iraq secure 
and helping its people rebuild their country.
  There is an important conversation going on about these issues. It 
would be nice if the President joined in, but to immediately insist 
that we stay the course is at this point irresponsible, insulting and 
demeaning to the American people.
  I know this President does not like to admit his mistakes, but maybe 
it is time to eat a little crow. I think a little bruised pride is a 
small price to pay if it means more Americans will not have to die.
  Mr. Speaker, let us return Iraq to the Iraqi people and our soldiers 
home to their families.

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