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IRAQ
& SMART Security Platform for the 21st Century Platform
Floor Statements
To Watch Video of Lynn's Iraq Floor Statements,
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End Occupation of Iraq (#300)
Watch Video | | March 10, 2009 | |
| Madam Speaker, today I rise to deliver my 300th speech on the floor of the House, speeches demanding an end to the occupation of Iraq.
I take no pleasure in marking this milestone, except that in this great democracy we have it is possible for one Member of the House to stand here and express her opinions. But instead of pleasure, it deeply saddens me, for it reminds me just how long the Iraq occupation has been dragging on.
America's invasion and occupation of Iraq began 6 years ago this month. On March 21, 2003, the previous administration gave us ``Shock and Awe.'' There were big explosions on our TV sets, but innocent people were being killed that night in Baghdad. And for the next 6 years, the body count continued to rise as Iraq became a hell on Earth.
Today conditions on the ground have improved, but the occupation goes on. Over 140,000 American troops remain in harm's way. Over 100,000 military contractors continue to roam the streets of Iraq, unaccountable to anyone but themselves. Military families continue to suffer here at home and tens of thousands of veterans suffer from injuries that will last a lifetime.
I voted against authorizing the use of force in Iraq, and I was the first Member of Congress to introduce a resolution calling for the withdrawal of our troops. For 6 years I have made the case that the occupation makes no sense.
On February 2, 2005, I said on the floor of the House ``The sad irony is that after our Nation was attacked on 9/11 by al Qaeda, (our) response was to bomb and kill civilians in one of the few countries in the Middle East that was inhospitable to al Qaeda.''
I also pointed out that the occupation wasn't making America any safer. On March 19, 2007, I said, ``The rate of fatal terror attacks worldwide was increased by a factor of seven since the Iraq war began.''
And I noted that the occupation was bleeding our Treasury dry and threatening our economy. On October 25, 2007, I said, ``It's incredible to me that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, who lecture us daily about fiscal constraints, (do) not make a peep about the fiscal catastrophe'' of Iraq.
I also raised my voice over and over again to decry the other tragic consequences of the occupation, which included the tragic loss of over 100,000 American and Iraqi lives, the refugee crisis, the torture at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere, the shabby treatment of our veterans at Walter Reed, the ``Mission Accomplished'' and weapons of mass destruction fiascos, the manipulation of intelligence to create a false cause for war, the cynical use of the 9/11 tragedy to justify military action against Iraq that the Bush administration had been planning all along, the scandal of sending our troops into battle without proper body armor and the terrible damage to our Nation's moral standing and reputation in the world.
I also spoke about the tremendous bravery and the skill of our troops and the amazing courage of the mothers of section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery, and I rose time and time again to offer a real alternative to the occupation, a smart security plan, a plan that would defeat terrorism without the need to wage immoral and unnecessary wars.
Most recently, I rose to declare that the current plan to leave 50,000 residual troops after August 2010 in Iraq is unacceptable. I believe the best approach now is to withdraw all our troops by August 2010 and coordinate their removal with reconciliation and reconstruction efforts, efforts to promote the unification of the Iraqi people.
Madam Speaker, the occupation of Iraq violates America's core values of peace, freedom and human rights. I will continue to raise my voice on the floor of the House for these values until we bring all our troops home to their families and the peace and sovereignty of Iraq is restored.
I will also continue to raise my voice on this floor for a new and better foreign policy based on diplomacy and peaceful international cooperation.
I shall soon deliver speech number 301. |
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