[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11749]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 LEAKED CABLE FROM U.S. EMBASSY IN IRAQ

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to speak out of 
order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentlewoman from 
California is recognized for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, last week in his surprise visit to Baghdad, 
President Bush was full of happy talk. ``The progress here in Iraq has 
been remarkable when you really think about it,'' he said.
  But as usual, with this administration, there is a side of the story 
you don't hear until it leaks out.
  Over the weekend, the Washington Post reported on a memo under the 
name of U.S. Ambassador of Iraq Zalmay Khalizad, which describes the 
treacherous living conditions faced by Iraqi nationals who work for the 
U.S. Embassy.
  The cable cites harassment from militia groups, hostility from 
security forces, the ones we have trained, sporadic utilities in 115-
degree heat, scarce and expensive fuel, women forced to cover their 
faces in public, kidnappings of family members, fear of recrimination 
if it is discovered that they are employed by the embassy and are thus 
aiding the occupation. Some of these men and women haven't even told 
their families where they work.
  Mr. Speaker, is this the freedom that the President says is 
transforming the Middle East?
  The dispatch describes the central government, the one we have heard 
the Bush administration pump up to no end, as ineffective and ``not 
relevant.'' Embassy staff report that it is actually local militia and 
neighborhood governments that control the streets.
  After 2,500 American deaths, more than a quarter of a trillion 
dollars spent, and our global reputation lying in tatters, we still 
don't have a grip on basic security in Iraq. It is absolutely 
scandalous.
  Mr. Speaker, if the men and women who work for the U.S. Government 
feel threatened, how can we possibly hope to maintain peace, rule of 
law and basic services for millions of ordinary Iraqis living outside 
of the bubble of the Green Zone?
  It couldn't be clearer. We are not trusted, respected or beloved in 
Iraq. Our military presence is not providing relief from an atmosphere 
of resentment, danger and paranoia in Iraq; we are contributing to it. 
In fact, we are exacerbating it.
  There is only one answer, Mr. Speaker. It is time, in fact, it is 
long past time, for our troops to come home. We can help Iraqis build a 
more promising future. We can help them rebuild their country and do 
our best to help them resolve sectarian strife. But we can do it only 
as a partner, not as an occupier. We can do it only if we end this 
disastrous war, only if we return Iraq to the Iraqis and return our 
troops to their families.

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