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| Congressional Record |
| Please read Senator Lautenberg's testimony from the Congressional Record. It's in blue and red print. The red print is his reference to the MFSO meeting! |
| CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— SENATE S6227 June 21, 2006 The President’s ‘‘stay the course’’ plan also is not working for the Iraqis. Insurgent violence is on the upswing, and our efforts to help rebuild Iraq are been pretty much flat-lined in the last couple of years, and we haven’t been able to finish building the schools and hospitals they want and need and that we would like to help them build. ‘‘Stay the course,’’ I say to my friends, is not working. This amendment is about a new direction in Iraq. It is about accountability. It is about being tough. It is about being smart. It is about changing the course, not staying the course. It is about laying out a plan for victory in Iraq. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment and the advice I heard not 6 months ago that it is time for America to move toward the door—not to leave, not to leave precipitously but to move toward the door and to allow the Iraqi people themselves to carry more of the burden in an effort to relieve from us some of that burden, an effort to make sure they have, in the end, a democracy and a country of their own to govern. I yield back my time. Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I would ask simply that as we vote on this amendment and the one that will follow, that we vote them down and give our generals and our troops the ability to complete the work that we have asked them to do, and that is to win, to prevail, and to make this country safer for future generations. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan. Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I yield 8 minutes to the Senator from New Jersey. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey is recognized for 8 minutes. Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, and then following the Senator from New Jersey, the Senator from Kansas, Mr. ROBERTS, will be recognized, and then following Senator ROBERTS, the Senator from Missouri, Mr. BOND. Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, may I claim my full 8 minutes? The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senatorcan claim his full 8 minutes. Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the resolution put forward by the senior Senator from Michigan. I appreciate the fact that he has framed the debate on the war in Iraq both for the Senate and for the American people. Last week the American death toll in Iraq passed 2,500. It is a tragic milestone and the American people are not happy about it, because our President has yet to articulate exactly what we are trying to accomplish in Iraq. I maintain a gallery of pictures of U.S. servicepeople who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan outside the front door of my office. It reminds me and all who visit my office about the loss of young lives and the terrible cost of this war. As a war veteran, I know what these troops and their families are going through. I heard the Bush administration say that some Iraqis are worried about us leaving. But I say this: The American people are worried about us staying. What more can we do for the Iraqi people? We have spent over $300 billion of U.S. taxpayer funds there. We have Date Aug 31 2005 03:09 Jun 22, 2006 Jkt 049060 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G21JN6.071 S21JNPT1 ccoleman on PROD1PC71 with SENATE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— SENATE S6228 June 21, 2006 We helped them hold three elections. We have trained and armed their police and their military. I say it is time for them to take control of their country. I have heard my colleagues on the other side of the aisle say that we would bring dishonor to those who lost their lives if we begin to leave Iraq. But ask the families with loved ones over there how they feel. I met with a group in my Newark office with loved ones in Iraq, including a mother who lost her son there. As far as they were concerned, it would bring dishonor to other families if we just stay there with no plans for the future. So why are we having so much trouble securing Iraq? The answer is clear: The administration has no plan in place to do it. When they tried, we saw misstep after misstep by the civilian leaders in the Pentagon. And the leadership problems at the Pentagon start at the top. This administration went to war on the cheap: Not enough troops, not enough body armor, not enough help from our allies. I think we are down to a coalition that has very little coalescence attached to it. No help. And our troops have paid the price for these mistakes. There were so many mistakes and miscalculations by the Bush administration that it is hard to believe it at all. Secretary Rumsfeld said the Iraqis would welcome U.S. troops and that the Iraqi resistance would be limited. He was obviously wrong. He also failed to build coalitions with our allies. One of the few major allies that did join the coalition was Poland, which sent about 1,600 troops. But they began withdrawing early this year. Half are already gone, and by the end of the year, Poland will have all of its troops out of Iraq. Just this week, the Japanese announced they will withdraw their troops. We ask, when are we going to start withdrawing our troops? So far, 16 nations who have provided some assistance in Iraq have withdrawn their troops. The administration’s failure to build a real coalition has caused our troops to bear the vast majority of the risk and suffer the casualties. Mr. INHOFE. Will the Senator yield? Mr. LAUTENBERG. No, I will not yield. I don’t have enough time, I am sorry to say. Perhaps afterwards, the Senator from Oklahoma can use his own time to have an exchange. Secretary Rumsfeld said the war would be short. He said, ‘‘I doubt 6 months.’’ More than 3 years later, we know how tragically wrong that assessment was. Additionally, Secretary Rumsfeld was also way off on the cost of the war. He said it would cost no more than $100 billion. But the staggering reality is that it has cost $320 billion thus far, and we expect it will get close to half a trillion dollars before this year is over. Now we are experiencing a crisis in military recruiting. But about that, Secretary Rumsfeld is in denial. Whether in public or in private, he claims that recruiting is fine. Well, it is not. Here is the reality: The Army National Guard and Reserve are falling well short of their goals, and the only reason other branches are meeting goals is because the Pentagon has reduced the target numbers. Eight retired generals have come forward to say what many in the military have been thinking for years, and that is: It is time for a change at the top as well as the recovery of our people back home. One of the generals, General Eaton, who served in Iraq, said the following about Secretary Rumsfeld: In sum, he has shown himself incompetent strategically, operationally, and tactically, and is far more than anyone else responsible for what has happened to our important mission in Iraq. Mr. Rumsfeld must step down. But instead of taking a stand like the generals, we have heard our colleagues on the other side of the aisle simply repeating talking points that were handed to them by the Bush administration: ‘‘Cut and run’’—disgusting words when you look at the reflection of what is intended there. We know this because the Secretary of Defense sent a Republican briefing booklet to Democrats by mistake last week. This briefing book is a three-ring binder of spin. It contains the same spin that we hear today from the other side of the Chamber. Instead of developing talking points and spin for Republican Senators, we should concentrate on putting together a plan for our troops in Iraq: For our troops to come home. I think my Republican colleagues should have stamped that briefing book ‘‘Return to Sender’’ and told the administration that they will think for themselves. That is what I would hope my colleagues across the aisle would do. I know that they want to protect our troops and I know that they care as much about loss of life. But we have a different approach on it. We need a fresh start, honest leadership, and we are not going to get either one as long as those in charge maintain their positions. In sum, I think it is time for Secretary Rumsfeld to go, and it is time for our troops to start to go home. I yield the floor. |