[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 21]
[House]
[Page 28945]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         THE VIETNAM WAR REDUX

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, the first national protest demonstration 
against the Vietnam War occurred 40 years ago this month. About 100,000 
Americans came to Washington in October 1967 to protest that foreign 
policy disaster.
  Vietnam was a war of choice. We invaded a country that never attacked 
us. We sent our troops into the middle of a civil war that had nothing 
to do with us. We went to war in a country whose culture or history we 
did not understand. We had no exit strategy.
  We went to war after Congress authorized the President to do so. We 
found out later that the congressional resolution was based on false 
information supplied by the administration.
  The Vietnam War divided our people. It led to the deaths of thousands 
of American troops and countless innocent civilians. It undermined our 
moral leadership in the world. We went to war alone. We were isolated 
from our allies. It was a propaganda victory for our enemies.
  There is more, Mr. Speaker. We propped up an often corrupt government 
that couldn't figure out how to rule. We kept waiting for South 
Vietnamese troops to stand up so we could stand down. The Vietnam War 
squandered our Nation's treasure. It diverted us from solving our own 
domestic problems.
  We said the war was all about spreading freedom. But the people of 
the country we invaded saw it as a foreign occupation. The occupation 
went on year after year. It passed from one administration to another. 
Our leaders kept telling us victory was just around the corner if we 
put more troops in. It devastated the country we were trying to save. 
It was a political, economic and moral catastrophe for America.
  That was Vietnam. But it sounds exactly like Iraq. Today we are 
repeating the same terrible mistakes in Iraq that we made 40 years ago 
in Vietnam. Some of the Members of this House who support our 
occupation of Iraq lived through Vietnam. They have had 40 years to 
think about it. Yet they still miss the point. The doctrine of 
preemptive war is not suited to America because we are not warmongers. 
The American people do not believe in shooting first and asking 
questions later.
  There is one other mistake we made back then that I hope we won't 
repeat, but I am afraid we will. The war in Vietnam spread to another 
country when we bombed Cambodia. Today, there is growing evidence that 
the administration is getting ready to spread the war in Iraq to 
another country. That would be Iran. About a week ago, the 
administration warned that Iran would face serious consequences if it 
proceeded on its current course. We all wonder what that means. Does it 
mean another round of shock and awe? Another country for our reckless 
leaders to bomb?
  But the administration needs to consider the ``serious consequences'' 
that America will face if we attack yet another Middle Eastern country. 
Our occupation of Iraq has produced a fresh new crop of terrorists. 
Using military force instead of diplomacy to get Iran to act 
responsibly will certainly do the same.
  In 1999, Mr. Speaker, when America was involved in Kosovo, the then-
Governor of Texas said, and I quote him, ``Victory means exit strategy, 
and it's important for the President to explain to us what that exit 
strategy is.'' That Governor of Texas is now in the White House. But he 
is not following his own advice.
  The administration has no exit strategy for Iraq. So it is up to 
Congress to provide one. We must use our power, the power of the purse, 
to defund the war. Then we must fully fund the safe, orderly and 
responsible redeployment of our troops' withdrawal and the withdrawal 
of all military contractors. Then we must launch a vigorous regional 
and international diplomatic effort to bring peace to Iraq and help it 
rebuild.
  A few years ago, the administration called for an initiative to 
improve Americans' understanding of history. Our leaders in the White 
House should start by learning the history of Vietnam.

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