Date: 2004-03-17
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the United States forces in Iraq. I also salute the troops from 34 other nations who have also fought to liberate Iraq from the clutches of tyranny and despotism. Our armed forces have performed with the utmost skill and bravery. They deserve our gratitude and support. They have not only been warriors in the heat of the battle and in the fog of war. they have also served as change agents. transforming upheaval into pace. However. both time and the facts have proven that we were led into war with the weapons of mass distortion. We have since learned that our reasons for sending our troops to Iraq were based on faulty intelligence. Assumptions about Iraqs weapons of mass destruction were incorrect. President Bush admits that the United States has no evidence linking Saddam Hussein to the 9/11 attacks. despite the Administrations timing conflating alQaedaed terrorism and Saddams regime. Plans for rebuilding Iraq were woefully inadequate. and cost estimate absurdly low. Rather than catalyzing Mideast peace. the region is again awash in violence. The Administrations arrogant dismissal of our allies concems has made it all the more difficult to win their financial and military support for postwar efforts. One part of winning the war against terror is proving to the world that America stands with freedom. champions the weak and aids the righteous. We are failing in that effort. The Administration has boasted that America. as well as the world. is now safer because of the toppling of Saddam Hussein. Twentyfive million Iraqis will attest to this. While the threat of Saddam Hussein may be gone. alQaeda is still a clear and present danger. As recent news headlines attest. the people of Spain are reeling from the dastardly acts of this hydraheaded monster. The war in Iraq and the intensified conflict in the Middle East has increased anger at the United States. and people throughout the world have lost faith in Americas foreign policies. Americas foreign policies should be driven by human rights. justice and equalityvalues that would decrease the threat to terrorismand not by corporate interests. I agree with this resolution on two points: the Iraqi people have been courageous and Saddam Hussein was a brutal and dangerous dictator. A year ago. my constituents demanded answers to their many questions. How much would a war with Iraq and subsequent occupation cost taxpayers? How would this be paid for when the federal government is running large deficits? Will it be worth it? How long will we be there? All of these questions about Iraq remain unanswered. I told them that there were no guarantees that we could replace the current regime with a viable alternative that would bring stability and peace to the region. I hoped my grim predictions were wrong. Mr. Speaker. I would never turn my back on our troops and our commitments. Our Nation is at war. We do know that the sons and. daughters of all our many communities are engaged in the dangerous and unpredictable duties that are carried by the Armed Forces in a time of war. Our military. including overburdened national reservists. are stretched thin and remain vulnerable to deadly attacks. Mr. Speaker. Iraq was neither an immediate or imminent threat to the security of the American people. Iraqs structural integrity did depend on fear. violence. illicit oil revenue and the illegitimate authority of one man and the party he led. But was that enough to justify the more than 565 lost lives of American soldiers and more than 2000 wounded that will have to return to their communities where jobs are not available? Postwar chaos and disorder in Iraq has proven to be just as destructive to human life as the actual war. I believe this resolution fails to point out that following the devastation of World War II. the United States showed tremendous leadership in the world as we created international institutions and a framework of international law to prevent war and to sustain and maintain peace. We were the leaders in promoting a world where conflicts could be resolved peacefully and cooperatively. While never perfect. this system of international institutions has been remarkably effective. I and many others around the world are shocked and dismayed by the unilateral. confrontational approach that the Bush Administration has taken in the world arena. We must recognize the consequences in the world community of our rejection of Kyoto. of the Intemational Criminal Court. of the treaty to ban land mines. and our own withdrawal from the ABM treaty. We must be mindful about how our criticism of the UN and NATO are heard throughout the world community. We have to recognize that after 911. the world came together in solidarity with our loss. working with us to find the perpetrators. to break up A Oaeda and to arrest its leaders. It should have been abundantly clear that fighting terrorism and protecting American security would require friends and allies. cooperation. not confrontation. Yet. the Adminatration instead engaged in a singledminded drive to achieve its Iraqi objectives at a deadly cost instead of developing a policy to deal with Iraq by working with our allies. by working with the world community. Even if the Administration gets what they want this time. what is the long term damage to our international relationships? How will it impact our efforts to stop terrorism and protect the security of the American people? I am worried. The people that I represent are very anxious. My colleague from Maine earlier circulated a dear colleague about this resolution. I would like to emphasize the points he highlighted in his Dear Colleague: The Republican leadership has scheduled four hours of debate today on H. Res. 577. regarding this resolution. This amount of debate time allocated to this nonbinding resolution is equal to the amount the Republican leadership allowed on the 2003 tax bill (one hour) and the Medicare bill (three hours) combined. Mr. Speaker. I believe all of Congress and all of America stand by our troops. but we think it is absolutely incumbent upon this Administration to answer our questions instead of debating a resolution with sound and fury while signifying nothing.