[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 20059]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       PERILS OF AMATEUR STRATEGY

  (Mr. SKELTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, in 1926, Sir Gerald Ellison published the 
book, ``Perils of Amateur Strategy,'' the subject of which was a 
disastrous British campaign at Gallipoli in 1915. Here we are, in 2006, 
and we find that the Bush administration is busy writing its sequel, 
``Perils of Amateur Strategy II,'' about the misadventure of the 
American attempt in Iraq. The high hopes of bringing stability and 
democracy are fading, mainly because of strategic mistakes that were 
avoidable.
  These mistakes include the diplomatic failure to ensure passage for 
our troops through Turkey at an early phase of the war; disbanding the 
Iraqi army; failure to control the looting after the fall of Baghdad; 
the failure to secure the weapons caches; and of course the failure to 
use enough troops to successfully complete the mission.
  In addition thereto, Mr. Speaker, on another subject, I note the 
failure of this Congress to fully implement the recommendations of the 
9/11 Commission. Mr. Speaker, we must not adjourn until we pass those 
recommendations into law, which will prepare us against future 
terrorist attacks.

                          ____________________