Date: 2007-02-15
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank my colleague from New York. Mr. Speaker. next month we will mark the fourth anniversary of the Presidents decision to launch a war of choice against Iraq. Many of us came to the floor of this House in the weeks before the invasion to urge the President to take a different course. The White House ignored those appeals for restraint. The Presidents mantra was. and these are his words. "Bring it on." For almost 4 years after the invasion. the President had a rubberstamp Congress right here that never seriously questioned his misguided policies in Iraq. It was the "see no problems. hear no problems. conduct no oversight" Congress. When the President stood below the banner "Mission Accomplished" aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in May 2003. the rubberstamp Congress believed the slogan. rather than the facts on the ground. When Vice President CHENEY declared tht the insurgency was in "its final throes" back in May 2005. the Republican Congress accepted that verdict without question. When the President unveiled his socalled "Plan For Victory" at the Naval Academy in November 2005. the old Congress dutifully parroted the talking points sent down from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. The days of the rubberstamp Congress are now over. This Congress will no longer serve as the mouthpiece for the White House. This Congress is finally standing up to do its job as a separate and coequal branch of government. Mr. Speaker. the message from the last election was clear. The American people have an uncanny ability to cut through the slogans and get to the heart of the matter. They understood clearly that more of the same in Iraq was not working. And the American people understand what both General Casey and General Abizaid have told us: that the escalation of more troops in Iraq is not the answer.-that it will make matters worse. not better. Increasing the -number of American troops in Iraq will put off the day when the Iraqis. the Shia. the Sunnis and the Kurds. must make the difficult compromises necessary to achieve political and national reconciliation. Putting more American forces in the middle of a bloody sectarian civil war will only lead to further violence and more American and more Iraqi casualties. It is time for the Iraqis to assume more responsibility. not less. The Bush administration has been wrong about this war from the beginning and it is wrong with respect to its proposed course of action now. The recommendations of the bipartisan. independent BakerHamilton Commission provide for the responsible redeployment of our forces and represents the best way forward in Iraq. And to those who would suggest that laving this debate will undermine our troops. I say shame on you. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pac6 put that canard to rest just last week when he said. "Thereis no doubt in my mind that the dialogue here in Washington strengthens our democracy. Period." Our men and women fighting in Iraq understand the strength and vibrancy of this democracy. and they understand that it is our duty in this Congress to exercise our best judgment for Americas national security. What has harmed our national security is not the debate in Iraq. but the lack of serious oversight over the Bush adrinistrations decisions and conduct. What emboldens our enemies is not the exercise of our democracy. but misguided policies that have weakened our national security. Our national security is weakened when our credibility around the world is undermined by false claims regarding weapons of mass destruction. Our national security is weakened when the chaos in Iraq allows Iran to greatly expand its influence in the region. Our national security is weakened when Americas diminished standing in the world has eroded our ability to influence the actions of others. Our national security is weakened because we have diverted our attention away from -completing th.e mission against the architects of 9/li. against Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda and the terrorist network that continues to operate along the AfghanPakistan border. We must change course. We must strengthen our national security position. not compound the errors we have already made. That is what this resolution is all about. We hope the President will join us in that effort. Lets chart a new direction now together.