[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4523]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1930
                THE BIGGEST BURDEN OF THE IRAQ CONFLICT

  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, I'm really glad to be back in the House. 
I've been away for over 6 weeks because of back surgery. I've been 
patched up, and I'm going to be just fine. I'm not worried about 
myself. But I'm worried, and I hope every Member of the House is 
worried about the hundreds of thousands of American soldiers and 
civilians who have been injured in the conflict in Iraq.
  Nearly 30,000, probably many, many more of our brave troops have been 
wounded.
  Many have injuries that will rack their bodies and their minds for 
the rest of their lives.
  Yet Vice President Cheney said last week that President Bush carries 
the biggest burden of this conflict. Tell that to the widows and 
widowers, Mr. Vice President. Tell that to the families who have been 
devastated by the injuries to their loved ones. Tell that to the 
children who see their mother or father in a hospital bed without a 
limb or with a terrible head wound. Tell that to the veterans who have 
not gotten the care they need and the care they deserve, the care we 
promised them.
  One of our soldiers in Iraq, Lieutenant Sean Walsh, wrote a piece for 
Time magazine recently about the human costs of the occupation. He 
wrote that his fellow soldiers have become his family and that three of 
them have died. And he asked the question, ``What is worth the lives of 
three of your loved ones?'' It is a good question.
  And so I would like to ask every Member of this House who supports 
the occupation the very same question: Is our occupation of Iraq worth 
the lives of three of your loved ones?
  We must also remember the Iraq civilians who have been injured. We 
seem to forget them, and that is truly a disgrace. According to the 
best estimates, anywhere from 80,000 to 150,000 civilians have been 
injured. And the real number, the real number is certainly much, much 
higher.
  What kind of health care are they, the Iraqi civilians, getting? The 
International Committee of the Red Cross reported last month that 
public hospitals in Iraq now provide 30,000 beds. Mr. Speaker, that is 
less than half of the 80,000 that are needed.
  In addition, 2,200 doctors and nurses have been killed since the year 
2003, and another 250 have been kidnapped. And the current conflict has 
worsened the impact of the previous war and the years of international 
sanctions. Of the 34,000 doctors registered in Iraq in 1990, 20,000 
have fled the country, some by choice and others by force. What about 
their burden, Mr. Vice President?
  Meanwhile, the administration continues to play its cynical game with 
troop levels. It is clear that the administration intends to keep 
140,000 troops in Iraq until it leaves office in order to put an 
artificial lid on this violence. That way, the outgoing administration 
can say that it improved the security situation and that we are on the 
road to victory in Iraq.
  But the truth is, all that has been achieved is a temporary military 
and political stalemate, new explosions of violence coming as I stand 
here speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives.
  And while we continue to be bogged down in a civil war in Iraq, a 
conflict that began centuries before 9/11, the real enemy, al Qaeda, 
grows stronger in its cozy, safe haven in Pakistan.
  The administration is often criticized for not having an exit 
strategy in Iraq. But in my view, the reason the President never had an 
exit strategy is because he never intended to exit Iraq. Permanent 
occupation has always been his game plan.
  So, Mr. Speaker, it's up to the Congress to implement the will of the 
American people and end the occupation with a responsible redeployment 
of our troops. The best way to honor those who have died or have been 
injured in this occupation is to ensure that more won't die and more 
won't be injured.
  That is why I will continue to speak up for our brave troops and for 
the innocent Iraqis who are, despite what the Vice President may think, 
the ones who are carrying the biggest burden.

                          ____________________