[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 20418]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         THE WORLD IS LESS SAFE

  (Mr. COSTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, America is less safe today than before 9/11 
attacks. That is according to the National Intelligence Estimate that 
was leaked out over the weekend. According to the report, the war in 
Iraq is actually fueling terror worldwide, undermining our efforts to 
fight terrorism, and making Americans less safe at home and abroad.
  This is the second report that questioned our efforts in Iraq, by the 
GAO. The GAO report asked three specific questions that, unfortunately, 
this do-nothing Congress should be asking if we had not abdicated our 
role.
  First, what are the key political, economic, and security conditions 
that must be achieved for U.S. forces to begin to withdraw? Americans 
want to know.
  Two, why have security conditions continued to deteriorate in Iraq 
even though Iraq has reached political milestones and increased the 
number of trained and equipped security forces? The American people 
want to know.
  And, three, if existing U.S. political, economic, and security 
measures are not reducing the violence in Iraq, what measures, if any, 
does the administration propose to end the violence? The American 
people want to know.
  It is time that we make Americans safer and fully implement the 9/11 
recommendations. It is time for a new direction.

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