[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4644]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          IRAQ WAR AND THE IMPACT ON OUR TROOPS 5 YEARS LATER

  (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, we have now entered the sixth year of the 
war in Iraq, a war the Bush administration assured us would be short 
and easy. One Bush official famously remarked that the victory in Iraq 
would be a ``cakewalk.'' Sadly, it has been the opposite for our 
troops, who continue to face lengthy and multiple deployments in the 
war.
  Last week, as we mourned the marking of a grim milestone, the death 
of 4,000 American troops in Iraq, we were reminded of the human costs 
of this ill-advised war.
  Military leaders warned that the war is putting enormous stress on 
our troops. We have seen a dramatic increase in suicides and 
depression. Lieutenant General William Caldwell, the Commanding General 
of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, said the Army is experiencing a 
shortage of majors and captains, because many who have had one, two and 
three combat tours have made the decision to go back into civilian 
life.
  With 4,000 American lives lost and thousands of young men and women 
suffering serious injuries, we should be looking at a way to end the 
war in Iraq. Instead, the Bush administration continues to support the 
status quo. ``100 years'' is one presidential candidate's latest 
statement.
  We must end the war.

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