[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14568]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          BRINGING AN END TO THE WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

  (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. KUCINICH. Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction, had no 
intention or capability of attacking the United States, and had nothing 
to do with al Qaeda's role in 9/11. Each and every statement made by 
the previous administration in support of going to war turned out to be 
false. Yet here we are, a new administration and the same old war and 
expansion of the war in Afghanistan. We cannot afford these wars 
spiritually. They are wars of aggression, and they're based on lies. We 
cannot afford these wars financially. They add trillions to our 
national debt and destroy our domestic agenda. We cannot afford the 
human cost of these wars, the loss of lives of our beloved troops and 
the deaths of innocent civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
  So why do we do this? Why do we keep funding wars when they're so 
obviously against truth and justice and when they undermine our 
military? These are matters of heart and conscience which must be 
explored. Our ability to bring an end to these wars will be the real 
test of our power.

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