Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was one of the world's greatest champions of peace. He said, ``We must find an alternative to war and bloodshed.'' He often quoted President Kennedy, who said, ``Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.''

Unfortunately, the administration today seems to have a different point of view when it comes to war. Take, for example, President Bush's video conference with our military and civilian personnel in Afghanistan last month. The President told them the following, and I quote: ``I must say, I'm a little envious. If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines in Afghanistan. It must be exciting for you, in some ways romantic, confronting danger.''

Mr. Speaker, I am shocked that the Commander-in-Chief believes that war is some sort of romantic adventure. It isn't. War is hell. War, as President Kennedy said, could put an end to all mankind. Just ask the millions of Iraqis who have been forced to flee their homes since our occupation of their country began over 5 years ago.

The U.N. recently reported that the number of internally displaced Iraqis has soared to more than 2.77 million people. More than a million of them do not have adequate shelter. More than 300,000 of them do not have access to clean water.

Another 2 million Iraqis have been forced to become refugees in other countries, where they're called guests. And the conditions are as bad, or worse, because guests cannot go to work in a foreign country.

Life isn't very good for Iraqis who have stayed at home either. ABC News has reported that sizable majorities of Iraqis say they don't have electricity, they don't have fuel, clean water, medical care, or jobs.

And if anyone still thinks that war is a romantic adventure, I urge them to learn about an organization called Iraq Veterans Against the War. Recently, this group held a 4-day conference where veterans of the conflicts of Iraq and Afghanistan spoke about their experiences. These veterans gave very frank accounts of the bloodshed and destruction that they experienced or saw with their own eyes. Their descriptions of combat are heartbreaking. They are too graphic to describe here.

Let me just say that they do not agree with their Commander-in-Chief that their time on the front lines was a fantastic experience. It was more like a living nightmare that may be with them forever.

Anyone who is interested can see videos of these veterans' testimony on the Internet. There you will see brave young American men and women who went into the military because they wanted to make our country and the world safer. They were ready to sacrifice their lives for that cause. But when they saw the consequences and the inconsistencies and the horrors of this war, they decided to speak out. They are men and women of conscience who now oppose policy in Iraq because of the harm that it is doing to that country, to its people, and to our own military.

That, Mr. Speaker, is why we must move forward with the responsible redeployment of our troops out of Iraq. The administration will never do it, obviously. They've seen too many John Wayne movies, and must think that war is exciting, it must be romantic, something to be envied, because that's what they say.

So it is up to us in Congress to use our power of the purse to say, we will give you the money to safely bring our troops out, but we will not, we will not give you another penny to continue this occupation.

Two-thirds of the American people, Mr. Speaker, think that the occupation was wrong to begin with. They're right.

So let us honor Dr. Martin Luther King. Let us honor the American people by doing what they know is right. End it.