[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11759]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              SMART SECURITY AND THE CASE FOR LEAVING IRAQ

  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, the common theme to the war in Iraq has 
been the Bush Administration's ability and willingness to mislead the 
American people. First, they misled about weapons of mass destruction. 
Then, nearly 2 years ago, they falsely declared the end of major combat 
operations.
  Now they are openly declaring success of the mission, and President 
Bush regularly speaks of an increasingly democratic Iraq. This 
assessment suggests the degree to which the President fails to 
comprehend the disastrous lack of security that has plagued Iraq over 
the last 2 years. Personally, I am frightened that our own President 
has such a failed understanding about the reality of the war that he 
started.
  Just as disturbing were recent comments by the Vice President, Dick 
Cheney. In an interview, he said that the Iraqi insurgency was in its 
last throes. I am not sure which press reports the Vice President has 
been reading, but somehow I do not think his optimistic assessment of 
Iraq's insurgency is grounded in fact.
  Unfortunately, misleading assessments of the war like these do not 
magically secure Iraq from the true threats that it faces; and the true 
threats are an increasingly strengthened Iraqi insurgency, encouraged 
by the continued U.S. military occupation.
  On the ground, a violent wave of car bombings and other attacks 
killed 80 U.S. soldiers and more than 700 Iraqis in the month of May 
alone. Vice President Cheney calls this the last throes?
  At some point, the Bush Administration needs to admit what the rest 
of the American people know, that its current strategy in Iraq is 
failing. Recent pools show that 58 percent of Americans disapprove of 
the President's handling of the situation. Now it is time for the 
President to start listening to the American people.
  Members of Congress in both parties understand that our Iraq policy 
is a disaster. When the House recently debated the Defense 
Authorization Act for fiscal year 2006, 122 Democrats, 5 Republicans 
and 1 Independent, totaling 128 Members of Congress, voted in favor of 
my amendment expressing the sense of Congress that the President should 
establish a plan for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
  Mr. Speaker, Americans are less secure, not more secure as a result 
of the war in Iraq. This war has created a whole new generation of 
terrorists whose common bond is their hatred for the United States and 
our aggressive militarism.
  Unfortunately, we do not follow a smart plan, but fortunately there 
is a plan that would secure America for the future, the Smart Security 
Resolution, H.Con Res 158, which I recently re-introduced with the 
support of 49 of my House colleagues. Smart is a sensible, multilateral 
American response to terrorism for the 21st century; and it will help 
us address the threats we face as a Nation. Smart security will prevent 
acts of terrorism in countries like Iraq by addressing the very 
conditions which allow terrorism to take root: poverty, despair, 
resource scarcity, and lack of educational opportunities, as starters.
  Instead of rushing off to war under false pretenses, smart security 
encourages the United States to work with other nations to address the 
most pressing global issues, dealing with global crises diplomatically 
instead of resorting to armed conflict.
  Instead of maintaining a long-term military occupation in Iraq, our 
future efforts to help the Iraqi people should follow the smart 
approach: humanitarian assistance, coordinated with our international 
allies, to rebuild Iraq's war-torn physical and economic 
infrastructure.
  Mr. Speaker, the President must create a plan to bring home the 
hundreds of thousands of U.S. soldiers fighting in Iraq, helping to 
secure Iraq by giving Iraq back to the Iraqis and saving the lives of 
thousands of American troops. We must end this long and destructive 
war.

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