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




                       IRAQ AND AMERICA'S LEADERS

  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, last year when it became clear that the 
United States was unprepared to fight an increasingly hostile and 
aggressive Iraqi insurgency, Secretary Rumsfeld told our troops: ``You 
have to go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want.''
  Well, I am here tonight to tell Secretary Rumsfeld and the other 
members of the Bush administration that the war in Iraq was started by 
the government leaders we have, but not the government leaders we want.
  Let us take a look at the folks who are running things at the White 
House. Who is weighing in on this war every single day? First, we have 
got Scooter Libby, the Vice President's chief of staff. Scooter Libby 
was in charge of coordinating the intelligence and communications 
strategy for the war in Iraq until last week. Last week, Libby was 
indicted by a Federal prosecutor for his role in outing undercover CIA 
operative Valerie Plame.
  Libby's precise role in this scandal is not yet clear, but it is 
suspected that he shopped Ms. Plame's identity to multiple reporters in 
an effort to discredit her husband, Ambassador Joe Wilson, who opposed 
the invasion of Iraq and cited proof that the administration's claims 
of yellow cake in Niger were actually false.
  This political assassination reveals the cold, calculated tactics 
used by the Bush administration in the buildup to the war. Obviously, 
the administration was so righteous in their cause that they would do 
anything to stop those who opposed them, including identifying an 
undercover CIA agent. Now a Federal investigation is getting to the 
heart of those callous prewar tactics. Unfortunately, if Scooter Libby 
is the sole administration official to be punished for the governmental 
failures that led to the war in Iraq, then he will become a scapegoat 
of historic proportions.
  Libby's boss, Vice President Cheney, was no less involved in the 
planning that led to the war. According to reports, Mr. Cheney badgered 
and bullied low-level CIA analysts into misinterpreting evidence 
regarding Saddam's supposed nuclear weapons program. Also, we cannot 
overlook that Vice President Cheney was the CEO of Halliburton, the 
company that has benefited from billions and billions of dollars of 
contracts in Iraq. How many bids did Halliburton have to place to get 
these massive construction contracts? Surprisingly, not a single one.
  That brings us to former CIA Director George Tenet. As the CIA chief 
in the months leading up to the war in Iraq, George Tenet personally 
vetted much of the intelligence that was cited as evidence of Saddam 
Hussein's weapons of mass destruction ``program.'' Today, we are 
certain that evidence was completely false. Saddam Hussein did not 
possess weapons of mass destruction, nor did he have a program that 
could create weapons of mass destruction.
  So what did George Tenet receive for presiding over one of the 
monumental intelligence failures in modern history? Why, the 
Presidential Medal of Honor, of course.
  Mr. Speaker, it seems that many of the administration have benefited 
personally and professionally from the war in Iraq, while the rank and 
file, our soldiers, have suffered a disproportionate share of the 
burden. You go to war with the Army you have? Well, I have been to Iraq 
and I have got news for the American people: the Army we have is pretty 
darn impressive. We ought to be proud of their commitment to America's 
security, and we ought to be appalled that their civilian superiors 
have not demonstrated an equal commitment to them. It is our country's 
highest leaders that we ought to be worried about.
  The indictment of those involved in the prewar intelligence would be 
a start. After more than 2 years of war, over $200 billion spent, 
continued death and continued suffering, it is time to end this awful 
game of lies. It is time to end this corruption. Let us support our 
troops. Let us bring them home to their families where they belong.

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