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-Calls on the Congress to fully fund an immediate withdrawal from Iraq-

Washington, DC – Co-founder of the Out of Iraq Caucus, and Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey today took to the House floor to express her strong opposition to President Bush’s proposed escalation plan, and called on her colleagues to support an immediate and fully funded withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.  The full text of Woolsey’s statement, as prepared for delivery, is below:

“Madame Speaker, the decision to send more brave Americans into the Iraq grinder is an act of staggering presidential arrogance.

“Nearly two-thirds of our people think this is a deeply flawed, tragically misguided policy.  They get it, Madame Speaker.

“They can see that more troops won’t stop the sectarian violence…because it is our military presence that ignited the sectarian violence in the first place.

“The human cost in Iraq has been devastating.  By some estimates, several hundred thousand Iraqi citizens have died…for the cause of their own so-called “liberation.”  No wonder a majority of Iraqis want the occupation to end.

“As the late columnist Molly Ivins put it: “Iraq is clearly hubris carried to the point of insanity – it’s damn hard to convince people you’re killing them for their own good."

“I hope that an overwhelming vote in favor of this resolution will compel the President to re-think his Iraq policy.  But if not, this body will have no choice but to take further steps.

“Ultimately, we must do more than send a message: we must send a convoy of military planes to bring our troops home.  Together with my colleagues Ms. Lee and Ms. Waters, I have offered a plan to end this war once and for all.  Our bill is H.R. 508, the Bring Our Troops Home and Iraq Sovereignty Restoration Act.  It would complete a fully-funded military withdrawal from Iraq within 6 months of enactment.

“Because our military and their families have given enough for a policy that is only increasing the terrorist threat and doing damage to our national security.

“The bill would accelerate the training of Iraqi security forces during the 6-month transition.

“And because Iraq is not yet ready to defend its people against thugs, insurgents and militias, our bill calls for an international stabilization force to help keep the peace in Iraq.  But it would stay only for two years and would deploy only at the request of the Iraqi government.

“Because we have already poured enough of the people’s money down this sinkhole, H.R. 508 would prohibit any further funding to deploy U.S. troops…but would provide the resources for a safe withdrawal of all US military personnel and contractors.

“The proposal would also provide for humanitarian aid and major investments to rebuild Iraq’s physical and economic infrastructure.

“Because taking our troops out of Iraq doesn’t mean abandoning Iraq.  We can and we must go from military occupier to reconstruction partner.

“Our proposal expressly prohibits the construction of U.S. military bases in Iraq.  Because it’s that kind of permanent occupation that fuels the rage of anti-American jihadists in the Middle East.

“Iraq should belong to the Iraqis, and that includes Iraq’s resources.

So under the terms of our bill, the United States would forfeit any proprietary claim to Iraqi oil.

“Finally, H.R. 508 guarantees full health care funding, including mental health benefits, for U.S. veterans of military operations in Iraq and other conflicts.  Because it’s the least we can do to express our gratitude and repay their sacrifice.

"Madame Speaker, we must never, ever forget what war does to bodies, minds, families, communities and the human soul.  The victims of war are not pieces to be moved around on a chessboard.  They are our fellow citizens in a global village that gets smaller every day.  They are our brothers and sisters; they are God’s children, with as much right to human dignity as you or I.

“The one thing I desperately hope we’ve learned from the Iraq nightmare is that we must find more sensible, humane ways to keep America safe and resolve global conflict.  Because if we don’t, given the kinds of weapons that are available today, I fear that we are putting the entire planet on a path toward destruction.

“I fear most of all for our children.

“‘War,’ said Martin Luther King, Jr., ‘is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrow.’  Tomorrow belongs to our children.  So, Madame Speaker, for their sake, we must find alternatives to war.  We must protect America by relying not on our basest impulses but on the most honorable and humane of American values – liberty, freedom, equality, and justice.”