[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 24899]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    PROPOSED LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT

  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, today I would like to share a letter that I 
will be sending to President Bush next week. I hope that all of my 
colleagues will join me in signing this important letter, because it is 
time for Congress to end the war in Iraq and bring the troops home.
  Here is the letter: Dear Mr. President. Despite 2\1/2\ years of 
warfare, including the deaths of over 2,000 soldiers and injuries to 
15,000 others, Iraq remains as unstable as it was when you declared an 
end to major combat operations in May of 2003.
  We need to face the fact that the situation in Iraq is not improving, 
nor will it improve as long as our troops remain there. Because the 
presence of over 160,000 soldiers in Iraq and on Iraqi soil is the main 
catalyst fueling Iraq's insurgency. The time is long overdue for the 
U.S. to change course in Iraq and bring our troops home.
  To transition from war to peace, we recommend that your 
administration immediately make four pivotal policy changes in Iraq. 
First: engage in greater multilateral cooperation with our allies. 
Second: pursue diplomatic nonmilitary initiatives. Third: prepare for a 
robust post-conflict reconciliation process. And, fourth: withdraw the 
U.S. armed Forces. Multilateral cooperation.
  The United States must engage the international community, including 
the U.N. and NATO, to establish a multinational interim security force 
for Iraq. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations at the United 
Nations, for example, is well suited for this task.
  Diplomatic nonmilitary initiatives. The U.S. must pursue a diplomatic 
offensive, shifting its role from that of Iraq's military occupier to 
its reconstruction partner. This means giving Iraq back to the Iraqi 
people, working with them to rebuild their economic and physical 
infrastructure and creating Iraqi jobs.
  The U.S. must also engage the United Nations to oversee Iraq's 
economic and humanitarian needs, renounce any desire to control Iraqi 
oil, and ensure that the United States does not maintain lasting 
military bases in Iraq.
  Post-conflict reconciliation. Establish an international peace 
commission to oversee Iraq's post-war reconciliations. This group would 
include members of the global community who have experience in 
international peace-building and conflict resolution and would be 
tasked with coordinating peace talks between Iraq's various factions.
  Withdrawal of the U.S. Armed Forces. The cost of the war in Iraq, 
both human and financial, has been staggering. Tragically, the American 
and Iraqi lives lost and the billions of dollars spent have failed to 
actually make our country safer from the threat of international 
terrorism. To end the war in Iraq, save lives, and prevent the U.S. 
from spiraling even further into debt, the U.S. must withdraw its Armed 
Forces now.
  Mr. President, after Iraq holds it's December parliamentary 
elections, the country's leaders will be responsible for charting 
Iraq's course. The international community, including the United 
States, can then provide nonmilitaristic support to ensure the 
sufficiency of Iraq.
  We look forward to your response to our recommendations, and we would 
welcome the opportunity to discuss them with you further. Mr. Speaker, 
I will send this letter to the President in the coming days. Not only 
is it long overdue from the Bush administration to end the war in Iraq; 
it is long overdue for this body, the Congress of America, to do our 
part in ending the war in Iraq.
  I urge all of my colleagues to lend their signatures to this timely, 
important letter.

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