[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18235]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  SECRETARY OF DEFENSE DONALD RUMSFELD

  (Ms. SCHWARTZ of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SCHWARTZ of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, more than 3 years after 
President Bush declared ``mission accomplished,'' U.S. troops, their 
families, and all Americans continue to pay a high price for the Bush 
administration's ``stay the course'' policy in Iraq.
  We cannot afford to stay the course in Iraq. We need a new direction, 
which must begin with new leadership at the Department of Defense. 
Secretary Rumsfeld must be held accountable for his misconduct of this 
war. He has executed it with no plan beyond the initial invasion, 
rejecting sound advice and guidance from experienced generals, Middle 
East experts, troops on the ground, and elected officials from both 
sides of the aisle.
  From his failure to prepare the military for extended deployments, to 
his decision to disband the Iraqi military, to his unwillingness to 
acknowledge miscalculations and false information, he has demonstrated 
that he does not grasp the challenges facing the Iraqi people or the 
challenges facing our Nation and the military.
  His failed management of the war has not made us safer, and his 
recent attacks against Americans who question our strategy undermine 
the very freedoms he has sworn to protect.
  To fulfill our national security mission, it is time for a new 
Secretary of Defense and time for a new direction in Iraq.

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