[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10866]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      FIGHTING FOR PEACE EVERY DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Woolsey) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, in April of the year 2004, my staff came 
to me with a memo, asking if I wanted to give a Special Order speech on 
some issue of which I can't remember the subject. My answer at that 
time was, no, I didn't want to speak on that issue, but I did want to 
deliver a 5-minute speech that day and every day thereafter, when it 
was possible, to express my opposition to the wars in Iraq and 
Afghanistan and to express my belief that there is a smarter way to 
achieve our national security goals.
  So, Madam Speaker, since that day, I've stood here in this spot to 
say over and over again that these wars are eroding our spiritual core, 
bankrupting us morally and fiscally, teaching our children that warfare 
is the new normal. I have delivered these speeches as a member of the 
majority and the minority, when the President was a member of my party 
and when he was not, and today, I am doing it for the 400th time.
  When I began, the war in Iraq was still quite popular, as was the 
President who launched it, but we spoke out anyway, refusing to bend on 
principle because we knew that we did not belong there. My colleagues 
Representative Barbara Lee and Representative Maxine Waters and I 
called ourselves the ``Triad.'' We started the Out of Iraq Caucus, and 
we forced the first House vote to bring our troops home. Along the way, 
I visited Iraq, and my opinion was confirmed against that very war, but 
at the same time, it increased my admiration for our troops. Gradually, 
the tide of public opinion turned. President Bush lost the confidence 
of the American people, and eventually had to start winding down the 
war. I don't believe that would have happened unless a few lonely 
voices had dared to be heard in those early, early days.
  I am proud of what we have accomplished, but I am also very 
frustrated because nearly a decade after the first American boots hit 
the ground in Afghanistan, here we are--still at war, still occupying 
sovereign countries on missions that aren't making us safer or 
advancing our interests. The cost has been devastating. Over 6,100 
Americans are dead, and thousands more civilians have died for the 
cause of their so-called ``liberation.'' Thousands of U.S. 
servicemembers have come home but may never be the same, either because 
of physical wounds or mental health trauma, which can, with the 
physical and the mental health, destroy lives just as well.
  In addition to the staggering $3.2 trillion price tag that has piled 
up over the last 10 years, I don't think we've even begun to come to 
grips with the resources that the VA will need for the next 50 or so 
years to meet the responsibility we have to our veterans as a result of 
these wars.
  Madam Speaker, I've said it over and over again that I'm not 
suggesting we abandon the people of Afghanistan and Iraq. Anti-war 
doesn't mean anti-engagement or anti-security. The underlying principle 
behind my 400 speeches has been that we need a completely different 
approach to protecting America--one that emphasizes diplomacy, 
reconciliation and peaceful conflict resolution.

                              {time}  1020

  From the beginning, I have been pushing my own solution called SMART 
Security, fighting terrorism with better intelligence, with a stronger 
nuclear nonproliferation program, with humanitarian and economic aid 
that will give hope to people around the world, with less spending on 
weapon systems and more on homeland security, human rights monitoring, 
and energy independence.
  Most importantly, SMART Security insists that war is an absolute last 
resort because, Madam Speaker, for the sake of the future of the human 
race, we must and we can figure out a way to resolve our differences 
without resorting to war and violence. I will continue to do this for 
the remaining 1\1/2\ years that I will be in Congress, giving as many 
of these speeches as I can. And Madam Speaker, I will not rest until we 
finally bring our troops home and we adopt the SMART Security approach 
to preventing war and preserving peace so that my grandchildren and 
your grandchildren and their grandchildren will have a peaceful, 
productive world to live in in the future.

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