[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 1] [House] [Page 1109] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]WHERE'S W? The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes. Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, last night this House was host to the President for his final State of the Union address. Like all past Presidential speeches in this Chamber, it was historic. But this time it may have been historic because of what it did not achieve and what it left unfinished. Forget all of the unfulfilled commitments on education, health care, environmental conservation, employment, energy efficiency, worker protections and immigration. Let's just look at the record on foreign policy. The state of that union? Dismal. Upon taking office in 2001, this administration promised a new kind of international engagement, one based on partnerships and regional alliances. We didn't exactly get what we bargained for, unfortunately. And the recent administration tour through the Middle East just about summed it up. Remember those children's books, ``Where's Waldo?'' We had a case of ``Where's W?'' Let's start our tour in Israel and the Palestinian- controlled lands. After nearly two terms of ignoring the real crisis in the region, the administration tried to make a last-ditch effort at a peace agreement: First by hosting a summit, one that wasn't expected to achieve anything, and then by a visit to the region. No ideals were outlined, no real road map was sketched out. To be generous, it was a half- hearted effort. It greatly saddens me, Mr. Speaker, that such an important opportunity was squandered. The Israeli and Palestinian people deserve more. They deserve a chance to at least hope for peace. Next stop on the Where's W? trip, Kuwait and Bahrain. In Bahrain, the political opposition faces arrest, torturers are granted immunity, and a woman must go before family, not civil courts, family to fight back against violence and abuse. In Kuwait, the world saw how Kuwaiti justice is carried out when al- Azmi was hanged inside the Interior Ministry complex in Kuwait City on December 21. Next stop, the United Arab Emirates. This is the land where noncitizens are a subclass of people. They have very few rights. They face huge obstacles and discrimination. Oh, and another thing, women can't pass on citizenship to their children unless their husband is a citizen. What does that mean? It often means insurmountable barriers to education and employment. Now we are on the home stretch. Where in the world is W? {time} 1915 Saudi Arabia. The country with the choke hold on international energy markets, the homeland of the majority of the 9/11 terrorists, the land where women cannot legally drive a car yet. Sure, there is a proposal on the table to give women this right, but I wouldn't hold my breath. How did the United States President clearly demand the rights of all Saudi people? By walking hand in hand with members of the Saudi royal family. That sounds like a strange negotiating tactic to me. And the final stop on this regional tour, Egypt. Let's just look at what Amnesty International has to say about Egypt. We have longstanding concerns on systematic torture, deaths of prisoners in custody, unfair trials, arrests of prisoners of conscience for their political and religious beliefs or for their sexual orientation, wide use of administrative detention and long-term detention without trial, and use of the death penalty. This, Mr. Speaker, was a tour of wasted opportunity and flagrant disregard for the most basic human rights. So what will the President's legacy be in the Middle East? What is the state of that union? Not good. Not good at all. We have a seemingly endless occupation of Iraq destabilizing the region. Osama bin Laden is still missing. We have the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Opportunity after opportunity for regional stability has been squandered and our standing in the region is embarrassingly low. But know this: This Congress will continue to demand an end to the occupation of Iraq and a return to sensible and sustainable policies in the Middle East. We will not stand by while the clock runs out on this administration. ____________________