[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 17997-17999]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                  IRAQ

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, President Bush finds himself increasingly 
isolated on the issue of Iraq. Public support continues to evaporate. 
This week in a devastating blow to the President's policy, Indiana 
Senator Richard Lugar, ranking member of the Foreign Relations 
Committee, a respected voice and, I might say, a very experienced voice 
on foreign policy for the past 30 years, publicly broke with the Bush 
administration on Iraq.
  In remarks on the Senate floor which are prominently featured on the 
home page of his Web site, Senator Lugar said: ``Our course in Iraq has 
lost contact with our vital national security interests in the Middle 
East and beyond. Our continuing absorption with military activities in 
Iraq is limiting our diplomatic assertiveness there and

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elsewhere in the world. The prospects that the current ``surge'' 
strategy will succeed in the way originally envisioned by the President 
are very limited within the short period framed by our own domestic 
political debate. And the strident, polarized nature of that debate 
increases the risk that our involvement in Iraq will end in a poorly 
planned withdrawal that undercuts our vital interests in the Middle 
East. Unless we recalibrate our strategy in Iraq to fit our domestic 
political conditions and the broader needs of U.S. national security, 
we risk foreign policy failures that could greatly diminish our 
influence across that region and the world.''
  Senator Lugar framed the debate in terms of U.S. interests in the 
Middle East and the world. He is correct to note that: ``The current 
surge strategy is not an effective means of protecting those interests. 
Its prospects for success are too dependent on the actions of others 
who do not share our agenda. It relies on military power to achieve 
goals that it cannot achieve. It distances allies that we will need for 
any regional diplomatic effort. Its failure, without a careful 
transition to a backup policy, would intensify our loss of credibility. 
It uses tremendous amounts of resources that cannot be employed in 
other ways to secure our objectives. And it lacks domestic support that 
is necessary to sustain a policy of this type.''
  I would add several other observations: Rising casualties signal a 
strategy that is not working.
  The U.S. death toll has risen to over 3,555 and there are that many 
Iraqis dying every month. President Bush himself has admitted his surge 
will result in more American casualties, a phenomenon we in Ohio know 
well as last week we lost another airman, F-16 pilot Kevin Sonnenburg, 
who was laid to rest.
  Madam Speaker, I would like to place in the Record other important 
information about the situation in Iraq. Flexibility is not the 
President's strong suit, and it is time for President Bush to get in 
touch with reality before he does more damage to the position of the 
United States in the Middle East and before we lose more of our sons 
and daughters and the nation of Iraq loses more of its sons and 
daughters.
  Madam Speaker, President Bush finds himself increasingly isolated on 
the issue of Iraq. Public support continues to evaporate. This week, in 
a devastating blow to the President's policy, Senator Richard Lugar, 
ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee and a respected voice 
on foreign policy for the past 30 years, publicly broke with the Bush 
Administration on Iraq.
  In remarks on the Senate floor, which are prominently featured on the 
home page of his Web site, Senator Lugar said:

       . . . (O)ur course in Iraq has lost contact with our vital 
     national security interests in the Middle East and beyond. 
     Our continuing absorption with military activities in Iraq is 
     limiting our diplomatic assertiveness there and elsewhere in 
     the world. The prospects that the current ``surge'' strategy 
     will succeed in the way originally envisioned by the 
     President are very limited within the short period framed by 
     our own domestic political debate. And the strident, 
     polarized nature of that debate increases the risk that our 
     involvement in Iraq will end in a poorly planned withdrawal 
     that undercuts our vital interests in the Middle East. Unless 
     we recalibrate our strategy in Iraq to fit our domestic 
     political conditions and the broader needs of U.S. national 
     security, we risk foreign policy failures that could greatly 
     diminish our influence in the region and the world.

  Senator Lugar frames the debate in terms of U.S. interests in the 
Middle East and the world. He is correct to note that:

       . . . (T)he current surge strategy is not an effective 
     means of protecting these interests. Its prospects for 
     success are too dependent on the actions of others who do not 
     share our agenda. It relies on military power to achieve 
     goals that it cannot achieve. It distances allies that we 
     will need for any regional diplomatic effort. Its failure, 
     without a careful transition to a backup policy would 
     intensify our loss of credibility. It uses tremendous amounts 
     of resources that cannot be employed in other ways to secure 
     our objectives. And it lacks domestic support that is 
     necessary to sustain a policy of this type.

  I would add several other observations:


        rising casualties signal a strategy that is not working

  When a U.S. soldier was killed recently by a roadside bomb in the 
southwestern section of Baghdad, the death toll for American service 
personnel reached 3,500 over the four years of this war.
  The U.S. death toll has risen over 3555.
  President Bush himself admitted his ``surge'' will result in more 
American casualties--a phenomenon that has become all too frequent as a 
result of the Administration's conduct of the war. Even now, Northwest 
Ohio is mourning the loss of an F-16 pilot from the 180th Fighter Wing 
out of Toledo.
  We stand foursquare behind our troops. We will support them in every 
possible way.
  Sooner or later, President Bush has to face the facts: the American 
people will not sacrifice their sons and daughters in a failed 
strategy.


              soldiers becoming increasingly disillusioned

  Our armed forces are being stretched too thin, but the White House 
just won't listen. Senator Lugar said in his speech: ``The window 
during which we can continue to employ American troops in Iraqi 
neighborhoods without damaging our military strength or our ability to 
respond to other national security priorities is closing.''
  Tour after tour in Iraq are taxing the best troops in the world, our 
American soldiers, leaving them increasingly disillusioned with the 
mission.
  Soldiers are home no longer than 24 hours before they receive a phone 
call telling them to change their plans because they are going back to 
Iraq.
  Our troops have stepped up to the plate, they have served with honor, 
and now it is time for their Iraqi counterparts to step up.

       Our unit has already sent two soldiers in a box. My 
     soldiers don't see the same level of commitment from the 
     Iraqi Army units they're partnered with.--Captain Douglas 
     Rogers of Delta Company.

  Meanwhile, the line between ally and foe is continuing to be blurred 
as soldiers watch shadowy militia commanders installed as Iraqi Army 
officers, which places all our forces in a vulnerable position, heavily 
susceptible to internal as well as external terrorist attacks.


      the war is causing neuropsychiatric illness among our troops

  The war in Iraq is taking a hidden toll on the American forces:
  38 percent of soldiers, 31 percent of our Marines, 49 percent of our 
Army National Guard and 43 percent of our Marine reservists have 
reported symptoms of neuropsychiatric illnesses--PTSD, anxiety, 
depression.
  Mental health care stigma remains pervasive and is a significant 
barrier to care.
  Mental health professionals are not sufficiently accessible to 
service members and their families.
  There are significant gaps in the continuum of care for psychological 
health.
  The military system does not have enough resources, funding or 
personnel to adequately support the neuropsychological health of 
service members and their families in peace and during conflict.
  There is a shortage of active-duty mental health professionals. The 
system has been stressed by repeated deployments and other 
frustrations, and psychologists and psychiatric nurses are leaving the 
military in growing numbers:
  Air Force lost 20 percent of mental health workers from 2003-2007.
  Navy lost 15 percent of mental health workers from 2003-2006.
  Army lost 8 percent of mental health workers from 2003-2005.

       This report points to significant shortfalls in achieving 
     goals and taking care of our service members and their 
     families.--Dr. S. Ward Casscells, assistant secretary of 
     defense for health affairs
       The current complement of mental health professionals is 
     woefully inadequate.--MHTF Report.


                               Conclusion

  Madam Speaker, flexibility is not President Bush's strong suit.
  As his policy in Iraq continued to unravel, he dug his heels in and 
refused to listen to the generals, to the Congress or to the American 
people.
  As the situation in Iraq continued to deteriorate, the President kept 
insisting that things were getting better and the violence was 
beginning to subside.
  As civil society devolved into chaos, President Bush held onto the 
false hope that the Iraqi people were somehow prepared to take the 
necessary steps toward creating a democracy.
  Madam Speaker, President Bush cannot sustain this charade any longer.
  The ``wise men'' of the Republican Party, including Senator Lugar, 
are calling into question the fundamental precepts of the Bush policy 
and calling for a major overhaul.
  The president's Iraq policy stands discredited in the eyes of the 
world. At this point, only President Bush, Vice President Cheney and 
Prime Minister Tony Blair seem to believe that

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the original mission has any chance of success.
  It is time, Madam Speaker, for President Bush to get in touch with 
reality before he does anymore damage to the position of the United 
States in the Middle East and before we lose in the Middle East even 
more of our sons and daughters in this disastrous war.

                          ____________________