[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6670]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                   LACK OF POLITICAL PROGRESS IN IRAQ

  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, last week the New York Times reported that 
Iraq is falling well short of the political progress they were supposed 
to have made by now. Still no constitutional reform. Still no local 
elections. Still no final action on a law governing distribution of oil 
revenues. Still no reversal of the de-Baathification laws.
  The Bush administration is now saying that their military escalation 
needs time to work and that these political goals will not be met until 
the end of the year.
  I think it is clear what is going on here. What we have is another 
tactic by the White House in an attempt to run out the clock until 
January of 2009 when they can hand over the reins and make Iraq look 
like someone else's problem.
  The President has said that the military commitment to Iraq is not 
open-ended; yet all evidence is to the contrary.

                              {time}  2000

  The supporters of this war, a group whose numbers are dwindling by 
the day, tell us the next 6 months are critical. This really is the 
last chance for success. Time and time again, deadlines are established 
and not met, but there are no consequences, nor is there 
accountability. I am of the belief that the Iraqi Government won't get 
its act together until it is forced to govern on its own, until it is 
no longer propped up by the presence of more than 150,000 American 
soldiers.
  As it is now, as long as we continue with this military occupation, 
Iraqis have absolutely no incentive to push for democratic reform. As 
the Times article indicated, the President has waved off these 
concerns, accusing those of us who want to apply deadlines, pressure of 
being part of a culture of instant results.
  Instant results? I am sorry, the President has had 4 years and more 
than $400 billion to make this work. Besides, it is this administration 
that assured us we would be greeted as liberators, that democratizing 
Iraq would be a cinch, that there would be hardly any sacrifice at all. 
Now that they have turned out to be monumentally wrong, they are 
wanting to know why we are demanding answers 4 years later.
  I, for one, am tired of being told to be patient, especially when 
this body is asked to write another enormous check for this war, 
especially when my country is becoming a global pariah, especially when 
we learn that our Iraq policy has increased the threat of terrorism, 
especially when Americans are dying by the thousands, and those lucky 
enough to make it home alive face a mountain of red tape, substandard 
care, rodent-infested living quarters at Walter Reed.
  I believe we must move toward a fully funded military withdrawal now, 
not in August of 2008, not at some future date to be determined by the 
President. End the occupation and start bringing the troops home so 
that every last one of them can be out of Iraq and with their families 
in time for the holidays.

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