[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13] [House] [Pages 17376-17377] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]{time} 1615 IRAQ POLICY Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to speak out of order. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentlewoman from California is recognized for 5 minutes. There was no objection. Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I had the honor to visit a group of folks gathered on the Mall as part of Camp Democracy, a nonpartisan camp for peace, for democracy and for the restoration of rule of law. Those who gathered are relentlessly working to promote peace and justice. They bring great passion to our shared struggle. They have led one of the most important and powerful grassroots movements in recent memory, and because of the pressure they have applied and the eloquence with which they have made the case, the immorality of the Bush Iraq policy has been exposed. Mr. Speaker, in a few months, our troops will have been in Iraq for as long as their grandfathers fought in World War II. But unlike the struggle against Nazism, this has been an unmitigated disaster, a national tragedy and a moral outrage. More than 2,650 soldiers of our own are dead, nearly 20,000 wounded by the Pentagon's own [[Page 17377]] count and countless more psychologically traumatized. And for what? So we could make the world a more dangerous place and increase the terrorist threat? So we could create more jihadists and inspire more hatred for Americans among Muslim extremists? So we could foment a bloody civil war and rip a nation apart at its seams, killing tens of thousands of innocent civilians for the cause of their so-called liberation? Like the people at Camp Democracy, I have been speaking out against this war and this occupation even before they began. I have held forums, forced votes on resolutions and joined demonstrators at rallies across the country. Most recently, I introduced a bill that would rescind the President's authority to use force in Iraq, authority that was granted in 2002 under what we now know are false pretenses. I will not give up this fight until every last American soldier has been returned home to his or her family. But even after that, we will have plenty of work to do, because Iraq is only a part of the problem. The real problem is a foreign policy that uses too much brawn and not enough brains. The real problem is an approach to national security that says might is always right; that says, when it doubt, shoot first and ask questions later. What we need is to completely overhaul the way we handle global conflict and prevent wars from starting in the very first place. Working with the Friends Committee, working with WAND and working with Physicians for Social Responsibility, I created the SMART Security plan, which was introduced in the House in 2005. SMART would do just what I was talking about. SMART stands for Sensible Multilateral American Response to Terrorism. It emphasizes peacekeeping and diplomacy instead of invasion and occupancy. It rejects war in all but the most extreme circumstances. It fights terrorism with stronger global partnerships and with sound diplomacy, with better intelligence, with tough weapons inspections but without violating our civil liberties and fundamental freedoms. SMART would put more resources into securing loose nuclear material and ensuring the United States lives up to the commitments we have made in our Nation on nuclear nonproliferation. SMART would wean us off Middle Eastern oil. It would invest in renewable energy technologies instead of Cold War weapon systems that have outlived their usefulness. SMART would dramatically increase development aid and debt relief for the poorest countries in the world to combat the deprivation and despair that often gives rise to terrorism in the first place. It protects not by wreaking violent havoc around the world but by staying faithful to the most honorable American values. Armed conflict around the world is destroying our bodies and our souls. I am particularly troubled by the devastating impact this war is having on our children. Our children are the war's most tragic victims. Children represent a disproportionate number of civilian deaths in conflicts worldwide. And for many who survive, their education is disrupted, their communities destroyed and their families separated. ____________________