[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 7671]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               NEW POLLS REGARDING VIEWS OF IRAQI PEOPLE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, on the fourth anniversary of the invasion 
of Iraq, several new polls looking at the opinions of the Iraqi people 
were released. It is important that we heed this call and that we 
listen to their choices, because it has been 4 years.
  Some frightening stories were illuminated by the new polls. For 
example, one in four Iraqi adults have had a family relative murdered 
in the last 3 years, while 23 percent of those living in Baghdad have 
had a family relative kidnapped in the last 3 years.

                              {time}  1930

  More than half of Iraqis have a close friend or relative who has been 
hurt or killed in the current violence. One in six say someone in their 
own household has been harmed. Eighty-six percent worry about a loved 
one being hurt, two-thirds worry deeply. Huge numbers limit their daily 
activities to minimize risk. Seven in 10 report multiple signs of 
traumatic stress. The number of Iraqis who describe their lives as good 
has dropped from 71 percent 3 years ago to under 40 percent today.
  This is shameful, Madam Speaker. Every day the evidence against 
President Bush's so-called war plan mounts. It makes one wonder if 
there is even a plan at all. How much of the Bush Iraq policy has been 
forced on the Iraqi people? How much real involvement have the Iraqi 
people had in deciding the future of their own country. How are the 
Bush policies affecting Iraqi families?
  I voted against the authorization to go to war. And Madam Speaker, I 
say to my colleagues, whether they voted ``yes'' or ``no,'' now is the 
time to make a change in direction. Let us empower the Iraqi people; 
let us restore their sovereignty.
  Last week, I had the opportunity to testify before the Foreign 
Affairs Committee about my legislation, H.R. 508, the Bring the Troops 
Home and Restoration of Iraq Sovereignty bill. This bill is a 
comprehensive proposal. It has 49 cosponsors, and it will end the 
occupation of Iraq within 6 months of enactment. It will accelerate the 
training and equipping of Iraqi military and security forces, preparing 
the Iraqis to take over their own security after U.S. troops and 
contractors leave at the end of the 6 months. It will fully fund the 
health care commitment to our returning veterans. It will make veterans 
health care an entitlement, something they deserve because, for heavens 
sakes, they have done so much for us.
  Additionally, the legislation revokes the President's Iraq war 
powers, it prevents establishment of permanent bases in Iraq, and it 
returns the oil rights to the Iraqi people. Actually, it gives Iraq 
back to the Iraqis.
  Madam Speaker, our most solemn obligation is to the brave and capable 
men and women who have been placed in harm's way. This legislation, as 
I said, guarantees physical and mental health care for U.S. veterans of 
military operations in Iraq and other conflicts. It is the least we can 
do. It is the very least we can do to show the gratitude of a grateful 
Nation.
  H.R. 508 will fulfill our commitment to our Nation's brave troops and 
to the Iraqi people. The polls here and the polls in Iraq are clear: it 
is time to bring our troops home.
  To those who are watching and wondering about the future of our Iraq 
policy, I say I will not stop, I will not rest, and I will not back 
down in my fight until every single last soldier and marine is home 
safe with his or her family.

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