[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[House]
[Pages 24390-24391]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       THE CONTINUING WAR IN IRAQ

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, every time you look, the rationale 
for the Iraq war has shifted. It went from being about weapons of mass 
destruction to removing Saddam Hussein to trying to build a democratic 
Iraq.
  We were told this war would be over in a matter of weeks, and that 
the Iraqis would be able to finance it with oil sales. We were promised 
it was not a mission of nation building.
  But the reality is we're two years in and we've spent more than $200 
billion dollars on this venture. And who is paying for all of this? The 
American taxpayer.
  The outstanding public debt as of October 3 is almost 
$8,000,000,000,000 (eight trillion). With a population approaching 300 
million, each U.S. citizen's share of this debt is about $27,000.
  Big government conservatives are spending trillions and wasting 
billions. Republicans are no longer the party of fiscal conservancy, 
but the party of runaway spending and corruption.
  The majority's oversight of the spending in Iraq has been simply 
disgraceful. The time for accountability is long overdue. It is time to 
stop handing the president blank checks.
  Each week in Iraq, the deadly attacks continue, and more of our 
troops are lost. Our death toll now is past 2,000 Americans.
  These attacks remind us again of the urgent need to develop a more 
effective strategy in Iraq--one I and my colleagues on this side of the 
aisle suggested before we went to war, and one that was disregarded.
  The reality in Iraq is that we are creating new terrorists and 
severely damaging the public impression of the United States in the 
Muslim world.
  We should not be advocating an immediate withdrawal. But we need an 
exit strategy addressing our goals in Iraq and proposing the 
announcement of a timetable to draw down the majority of U.S. forces 
during 2006.
  Yet the president still refuses to level with Congress and the 
American people about when such withdrawals may actually come to pass.
  Our military leaders have repeatedly told us that there is no purely 
military solution in Iraq, and that a political settlement is a 
necessary element for success.
  Meanwhile, the Administration continues urging the American people to 
``stay the course.'' That's a bumper sticker slogan, not a strategy.
  The dishonesty needs to stop. The American people deserve better.
  Our troops have done everything we've asked of them in Iraq. They 
have acted heroically. They have done their job.
  We must have a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. forces--or at the 
very least a plan for it--something the administration has 
incredulously failed to do for over two years.
  This means conveying that our troops will not be there forever. It 
means the Iraqis must come together. Only Iraqi unity can stop the 
insurgency, not a permanent U.S. military presence.
  The administration has been sending the wrong message with repeated 
statements that we will stay in Iraq as long as we are needed.
  We should not mislead the Iraqis into thinking they have unlimited 
time to reach a settlement. The longer they think that, the less likely 
they will be to act.

[[Page 24391]]

  The administration needs to speak honestly with the American people. 
Exaggerating our progress in defeating the insurgency or in creating an 
Iraqi army paints a dangerous picture. Repeated tours in Iraq and 
Afghanistan have strained our forces and have hurt recruitment.
  The American people are losing patience with the mounting casualties 
and costs.
  Democrats are asking the administration to do its job and to develop 
a strategy for successful completion of the mission.
  It's past time for a plan to ensure that our mission in Iraq is a 
success and that our brave men and women in uniform can begin to come 
home soon.
  We must support initiatives that provide clear, concrete measures and 
milestones that our troops need for defeating the insurgency, building 
up Iraqi security forces, and handing over Iraq to the Iraqi people.
  From increased gas prices to corruption in Ohio and Washington; from 
record spending and record debt to jobs shipped overseas; and from 
failing to supply body armor to our troops in Iraq to skyrocketing 
healthcare costs, the Republican agenda has proved a failure.
  And they've done nothing to remedy it.
  The Republicans are running wild with our tax dollars and it's been a 
mistake to let this administration continue a policy of incompetence 
when it comes to Iraq.
  It is past time for Republican leadership to answer for record 
deficits and reckless spending, both in Iraq and in the U.S. It's time 
for a plan to bring our troops home.
  It's a message the American people understand, but Republicans aren't 
willing to accept.

                          ____________________