[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 19205-19206]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HEARING ON THE IRAQ WAR

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I thank the majority leader and the 
Democratic leader for their cooperation in asking for this short period 
of time.
  Mr. President, today there was a hearing that was held by the 
Democratic Policy Conference under the chairmanship of Senator Byron 
Dorgan of North Dakota. It was a historic hearing. It is rare for 
hearings to occur on Mondays. Usually the business of the Senate and 
House is concentrated on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. But this 
hearing was held on Monday in an effort, by the Democratic Policy 
Conference, to call witnesses before our Senate to discuss an issue 
which is on the mind of most Americans. That issue, of course, is the 
war in Iraq.
  Senator Dorgan extended an invitation to this hearing to the 
Republican majority leader as well as the chairman of the Republican 
Conference, Senator Kyl of Arizona, in an effort to have a bipartisan 
hearing on the war in Iraq. Unfortunately, neither of those Senators 
could attend. But Republican Congressman Walter Jones of North Carolina 
did come over and join us in this hearing, so there was representation 
from the Republican House and Democratic Senators at this Democratic 
Policy Conference.
  The reason I bring this to the attention of those who are following 
the business of the Senate is that I believe this hearing was historic. 
I believe it is the first time since our invasion of Iraq that we had 
an opportunity to hear from generals and officers who were in Iraq, who 
worked on that war and were willing to give us a critique, an analysis 
of their experience and their view of where we are today.
  MG John Batiste from the U.S. Army, retired; MG Paul Eaton, U.S. 
Army, retired; and COL Hammes of the U.S. Marine Corps, retired, came 
and testified about what has gone wrong in the war in Iraq and what we 
need to do from this time forward. One might think, if you listen to 
the talk shows, that this is common fare in the Senate, but it is not. 
In fact, it is one of the few times, if any, that we have allowed an 
oversight hearing on the policy in Iraq.
  If you chart the history of this country through our great wars, 
starting with the Civil War and forward, it is not uncommon for this 
Congress, regardless of party, to bring the leaders in that war to 
Washington to ask them questions about the progress that is

[[Page 19206]]

being made. But, sadly, since the invasion of Iraq, that has not been 
the course of action.
  What we have found, time and time again, is that this Congress has 
called before it for testimony those at the highest levels of the 
administration. Of course, the Secretary of Defense, the Under 
Secretaries, and the generals in the highest command are brought 
forward. But we never reach the next tier and the next rank and the 
next level because the perspective changes. The perspective of these 
men who testified today was the perspective of those who had been in 
charge of important operations in Iraq and had the responsibility of 
carrying out a mission and protecting the lives of American soldiers 
that were at risk.
  What they had to say was chilling. In stark testimony, each of these 
officers, now retired from service, having attended West Point and 
graduated, having attended Annapolis and graduated, said the first and 
highest priority that we had as a nation was to change the leadership 
at the Department of Defense. They felt the approach that is being 
taken by Secretary Rumsfeld and those in his close-knit team was 
inconsistent with success and victory in Iraq.
  They told of their own personal experiences when they would question 
some of the decisions that were made by the administration and by 
Secretary Rumsfeld, only to find that they were ignored or shunned. 
These generals gave eye-opening testimony, testimony that I wish every 
Member of the Senate could have heard. These were good witnesses to 
call--good witnesses because the members of the Armed Services 
Committee should hear their testimony. All of the Senators should hear 
that testimony, when they talk about what we face.
  When Colonel Hammes of the U.S. Marine Corps, now retired, said he 
expects the United States to be in Iraq for another decade, 10 years or 
more; when we hear from each of these officers that we have not 
provided the necessary troops in the field to accomplish our mission; 
when each of them reflects on our efforts to build the Iraqis into an 
army that can defend its own country and then says that the United 
States would not invest the resources to build the Iraqi Army at that 
critical moment in its history and now is paying a price for it--their 
testimony, which was covered by major news media, will be reported by 
some but should be reported to all the Members of the Senate.
  We have a responsibility in the Senate and in the House. We serve as 
that third branch of Government with a checks and balances system to be 
involved in the appointment of judges but, yes, to serve in oversight 
of the executive branch.
  Unfortunately, that has not been the case over the last 4 years 
during the course of this war. Very few, if any, Senators have stepped 
forward to question this administration's policy in Iraq. The 
Republican leaders in the Senate have not scheduled hearings with 
officers and former officers who could give us firsthand, candid, 
honest testimony about what is going right and what is going wrong. 
There is a fear in this administration of hearing unpopular expressions 
from those who have served in our military.
  We owe it to our soldiers; we owe it to our Marines, our airmen, our 
sailors, and all who serve under America's flag, and we owe it to their 
families to ask the hard questions, to demand the answers from this 
administration.
  Before the hearing today I contacted the Department of Defense for an 
update, an update on a very grim statistic. I asked how many American 
lives had been lost, our brave soldiers in Iraq. The number as of this 
morning: 2,702. Almost 20,000 have returned with serious injuries. We 
have spent over $325 billion on this war and continue to spend at the 
rate of $1.5 billion per week.
  It is a grim reminder of what this war has cost, first and foremost 
in human life, but also in human suffering--the prayers and anxieties 
of American families, those who have returned with injuries that they 
will deal with for a lifetime, and for taxpayers across the country who 
have seen our national deficit reach record levels as this 
administration refuses to accept the honest assessment of the cost of 
this war and to tell the American people the sacrifices that must be 
made for us to come home with our mission truly accomplished: 2,702 of 
our soldiers.
  That hearing was important. I am glad that Congressman Walter Jones 
came over so that it was a bipartisan hearing. But it is time for more. 
It is time for us to bring those officers and soldiers before us who 
are living this war in Iraq to tell us what is really happening on the 
ground. If there are ripoffs and profiteering by Halliburton and other 
companies, we should all take that personally. It is not only 
taxpayers' money wasted, it is money that is not being spent for the 
defense of our troops. It is money that is being misused when it could 
be used better so that our troops could get their job done, and done 
more effectively.
  When Colonel Hammes of the U.S. Marine Corps talks about the 
deterioration of production capacity in the United States, he marvels 
at that time in history when we were producing 4,000 planes a month, 
during World War II, and now we find, for the best armored vehicle that 
we need to move our troops, the best America can do is produce 48 a 
month? It is a good, valid question: why this war effort has not meant 
more dedication from our elected officials and the public sector as 
well as the private sector.
  It is interesting that each of these military leaders pointed a 
finger at Congress and at political leaders as well. All the criticism 
was not reserved just for the Secretary of Defense and military 
planners who brought us into this war. They said to us in stark terms 
that we have not communicated to the American people what it will take 
to win. They believe, and I share their belief, that the American 
people, when challenged, will rise to the challenge. We have done it 
time and again throughout our history.
  This hearing, which lasted a little over 2 hours, attracted a number 
of Senators and Congressman Jones from the House and should have taken 
place a long time ago. As Major General Batiste said--he has been out 
of the military after 30-plus years of service. He has been critical of 
what has happened. Today was the first time anyone had invited him to 
Capitol Hill to testify. We need to bring in these men and women who 
will share with us the responsibility of holding our Government and our 
leaders accountable in time of war.
  When so many lives are at stake, when so much is at stake, this 
Congress has to rise to the challenge and rise to the occasion. 
Unfortunately, that has not occurred. We have done little or nothing 
when it comes to accountability for taxpayer dollars, for the course of 
this war and strategy, and most importantly for the lives that have 
been lost. We can do better.
  We need a new direction when it comes to our policies in Iraq, a 
direction which doesn't call for immediate withdrawal but a direction 
which says there will come a day--and soon--when American troops can 
come home with their mission accomplished. And it is time for us to 
begin to initiate that conversation.
  I thank Senator Dorgan for those who attended today. I think it was 
time well spent.
  I hope, when we return after this election on November 7, we can in a 
bipartisan fashion have real oversight of this war, ask those important 
questions which our troops deserve to have answered, ask the important 
questions our taxpayers need to have answered about the cost of this 
conflict, and ask those important questions as to how we can reach a 
time--and soon--when our soldiers can return home victorious, with 
their mission truly accomplished.
  I yield the floor.

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