[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 21]
[House]
[Page 29053]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   RESOLUTIONS REGARDING WAR IN IRAQ

  (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KUCINICH. Today, the U.S. House will debate a so-called Victory 
in Iraq resolution, and vote on whether or not the continued U.S. 
military presence in Iraq is desirable by the U.S. Government.
  Today, Congressman Ron Paul and I have a resolution that expresses 
the sense of Congress that the new permanent Council of Representatives 
of Iraq should debate and vote on whether the continued U.S. military 
presence in Iraq is desired by the Government of Iraq.
  According to the Iraq constitution, the Iraq federal government has 
exclusive power over foreign policy and negotiation, national defense 
policy, and the Council of Representatives specifically has the 
responsibility of creating new law and certifying treaties and 
international agreements.
  The continued U.S. military presence in Iraq is a matter for the 
elected Government of Iraq, a sovereign nation, to decide. If we define 
victory as Iraq's self-determination, then we ought to encourage Iraq 
to make its own decision about further U.S. occupation. But if victory 
is just a cover for endless U.S. occupation of Iraq, then that is just 
not going to be acceptable to the American people or to people of the 
world.

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