[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 538]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       PERPETUAL WAR IS EXPENSIVE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, perpetual war is expensive. We have been 
militarily involved in the Persian Gulf region now for 20 years. 
Experts have predicted that the cost of this continuous and expanding 
war will reach $6 trillion.
  The hostilities and our overt involvement in Iraq can be dated back 
to January 16, 1991, when the defensive Operation Desert Shield became 
the offensive Operation Desert Storm. Though the end of the Persian 
Gulf war was declared on April 6, 1991, with a U.S. military victory, 
the 20-year war was just beginning.
  The U.S. and Britain have had an intense interest in controlling the 
oil of the Middle East dating back to the overthrow of the Ottoman 
Empire during World War I. This interest expanded during World War II 
with FDR's promise to protect the puppet governments in the Persian 
Gulf region, especially Saudi Arabia.
  Though this arrangement never sat well with the citizens in the 
region, a fairly decent relationship remained between the Arab people 
and the American public. But animosity continued to build with our 
ever-present military involvement in Iraq.

                              {time}  1150

  Our military assistance to the Mujahedeen in the 1980s, now the 
Taliban, helped the Muslim defenders, one of whom was Osama bin Laden, 
oust the Soviets from Afghanistan. At that time we were still not seen 
as occupiers, and the radical Muslims, encouraged by the U.S., were 
expected to direct all their efforts toward the Communist threat. That 
all changed with the breakup of the Soviet system and the end of the 
Cold War when, as the lone superpower left standing, we named ourselves 
the world's policeman. It was then that the resentment by Arabs and 
Muslims became directed toward the United States, now seen as an 
invader and occupier.
  Continuous bombing and crippling sanctions against Iraq during the 
1990s, the appearance that the U.S. did not care about the plight of 
the Palestinians, and our military bases in Saudi Arabia led to 
attention-getting attacks against the United States. The 1998 embassy 
attacks in Kenya and Tanzania and the attack on the USS Cole in the 
year 2000 were warnings that the war was far from over. The horrible 
tragedy of 9/11 shouldn't have been a surprise, and many believe it was 
preventable.
  Currently, the war has morphed into a huge battle for control of the 
Persian Gulf region and central Asia. This involves Iraq, Afghanistan, 
Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Iran. Foolish policies lead to foolhardy 
conflicts. Foolhardy conflicts lead to unsustainable costs and a 
multitude of unintended consequences. To name a few, we have spent 
trillions of dollars based on the false pretense of defending freedom 
and our Constitution. The notion has been further solidified that war 
no longer needs to be declared by Congress and can be pursued as a 
prerogative of the President. We are now seen by the world not as a 
peacemaker, but rather a troublemaker and aggressor.
  Thousands of American servicemembers have been killed and tens of 
thousands wounded, with a sharp increase in service-connected suicides. 
Over 500,000 veterans are seeking medical treatment and disability 
benefits. Millions of citizens have been killed, wounded, and displaced 
in the countries on the receiving end of our bombs, drones, sanctions, 
and occupation. The region has suffered huge environmental damage as a 
consequence of our military occupation.
  Christians from Iraq have suffered the worst rout in the history of 
Christendom. Iran and Iraq are now better allies than ever, with strong 
anti-American sentiment. Iraqi political stability is a joke. Ending 
hostilities in Afghanistan is a dream. China and Iran have been drawn 
into a closer alliance against the United States. America's 
uncontrolled deficits are senselessly fueled by needless militarism. We 
are now much poorer and less safe. There was no al Qaeda in Iraq before 
we invaded in 2003. Today there is. No weapons of mass destruction were 
ever found in Iraq.
  War always leads to government growth and the sacrifice of civil 
liberties. In the past 10 years, this has been particularly costly to 
us, with the acceptance of military tribunals, torture, assassinations, 
abuse of habeas corpus, and PATRIOT Act-type legislation. Senseless war 
and senseless destruction and death should not be rationalized as 
providing a great service in protecting our freedoms, our Constitution, 
or maintaining peace. The only value that can come of this is to 
recognize that our policies are flawed and they need to be changed. 
Without this, history will record that the sacrifices were all in vain.
  A policy of peace, friendship, and trade is far superior to one of 
occupation, entangling alliances, and sanctions which guarantee war. We 
should pursue such a policy for moral reasons. But if we don't, we will 
nevertheless be forced to change our ways for economic reasons. It's 
time to bring our troops home.

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