Iraq
Floor Speech
IRAQ -- (Senate - April 09, 2008)
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the country is consumed with the appearance this week of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker from Iraq. This is our annual report. Companies make annual reports. People like Warren Buffett call in to Omaha, NE, to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway to talk about the state of his corporation and what the prospects are of the future. It has become an annual occurrence here on Capitol Hill that the two leaders from the diplomatic and military side come and make their report to Congress.
This is indeed the beginning of the sixth year of this war. This war in Iraq has lasted longer than World War II. By the end of this summer, it will have lasted longer than World War I and World War II combined. We have lost over 4,000 of our best and bravest, our men and women in uniform who have given their lives in this conflict--30,000 injured. Many with permanent injuries have returned from this battlefield.
Our military has been stretched to the absolute limit. There is no doubt in my mind that the U.S. military is the best in the world. You only have to meet them, you only have to understand the challenges they have faced and the success they have shown to know that. But it troubles me that in the midst of this debate about how long we can stay in Iraq, we are actually saying: How long can our military stay in Iraq with the support of the American people?
An honest appraisal of the American military today, in the sixth year of this war, will tell you they have paid a heavy price beyond the deaths and injuries. There is a serious challenge facing our military. The leaders--General Cody, who testified just a few weeks ago, and General McCaffrey--have told us that Iraq has pushed the U.S. Army to the breaking point. That is a sobering appraisal by the military itself of what this war has done to our great military.
Just the other day, the Army reported increased stress, anxiety, and depression for 27 percent of soldiers returning to Iraq for a third and fourth tour. Those of us who have been there to meet with soldiers, as I have on three different occasions, will tell you that these extraordinarily long deployments of our soldiers are virtually unprecedented since World War II, and they have taken their toll.
Our soldiers today are usually married. In previous wars, they were not. So they go to battle remembering that they have left behind spouses and children. On a daily basis, they are in contact by e-mail. They know if the car doesn't start. They know when the baby has to go to the doctor. They know when there is a problem paying the bills. They know it in real time.
In addition to the stress of being in battle and in combat, they have the added stress of separation from their families and the knowledge that for many of them it will be 15 months in deployment before they can come home.
A lieutenant colonel from Georgia, a career man, said to me as I left: Senator, we have to do something about these deployments. They are just entirely too long. And the period between deployments isn't long enough. He talked about leaving Georgia with his daughter in the fifth grade and returning after his deployment to find her in the seventh grade. He missed a year of her life.
He also talked about the fact that bringing these troops home for a year or sometimes even less before they are sent away again doesn't give them time to rest, to reunite with their families, to be reequipped, retrained, and to bring in new recruits and integrate them into the unit. We turn them around so quickly because this administration, and those who support it, look beyond the obvious, take for granted that the military will be there time and time again, and pursue a foreign policy which, sadly, has been a misguided policy from the start.
I will recall that evening as long as I serve in this body, in October of 2002, when we cast that fateful vote to give President George W. Bush the authority to invade Iraq, an authority which he used. It was a historic night and a sad night for many of us. Twenty-three Senators, 1 Republican and 22 Democrats, voted against the authorization to invade Iraq. I recall that evening believing that this President was poised and prepared and ready to go into Iraq. He had misled through statements--inaccurate statements. The American people were misled about the circumstance involving that invasion.
Do you recall the fear we had? We were told about weapons of mass destruction--biological, chemical weapons, nuclear weapons. We were told Saddam Hussein was somehow linked to the terrible tragedy of 9/11. We were told his continued presence in the Middle East made it more dangerous for Israel, for many of our closest friends and allies. We were told he was developing predator aircraft that could be sent in remote ways to drop these weapons of mass destruction all around the Middle East, if not beyond.
Virtually every one of those statements made by this administration prior to the invasion of Iraq was wrong, inaccurate, and was proven to have been false. America was misled into this war.
That does not diminish in any way the bravery and courage and determination of our troops, but it says that the policymakers, many of whom are finally going to leave the scene in a few months, have to accept the verdict of history that they were wrong. They were wrong to lead us into this war, and the price we have paid has been a heavy price for that deception and that mistake.
They come now and tell us that even if we were wrong getting into this war, even if it lasted far longer than anyone anticipated, even if the cost of this war in human lives and actual dollars went dramatically beyond anyone's expectation, we have to ``stay the course.'' We have to stay the course. How many times have we been told by these military leaders and by the President that when the Iraqis are prepared to stand up with their own defense force, America's troops can stand down? I have heard that until I am weary of it.
Years ago, when I went to Iraq, I was greeted then by General Petraeus, who was not in charge but was part of the leadership there, and he took me off for a little exercise at the airfield to show me what the troops were doing--the Iraqi troops. I couldn't tell you whether it demonstrated skill or not. I am not an expert in military deployment by any means. But a handful of Iraqi soldiers, whose faces were hooded so they couldn't be identified by other Iraqis, went through the routine of a drill. I suppose it was undertaken to impress us. It didn't. I thought to myself: I will believe the Iraqi military has really reached the point of professionalism when they start replacing American soldiers and American soldiers start coming home.
Year after weary year, we have invested millions and millions of dollars in the training of their soldiers and their police. Yet 140,000 of our soldiers are still rising this morning and every morning risking their lives for the people of Iraq.
I sometimes wonder if the Iraqi people have really come to the basic conclusion as to whether they are a nation worth fighting for. I do not know the answer to that. When you hear what is going on in Iraq recently, where 1,000 Iraqi soldiers turned and deserted in battle, it is not encouraging. It tells me that despite all the time, all the money, and all the bloodshed, this war continues unabated.
I know now that many want to see this administration leave and hand over the quagmire of Iraq to the next President. That next President, whoever that person may be, will inherit two wars from this administration--in Iraq and Afghanistan--a recession, a situation where health care across America is in crisis, an energy challenge the likes of which we have never seen in this country, an environmental challenge of global warming that challenges not only our Nation but the entire world, entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare on the ropes, and, unfortunately, a country that needs real leadership. That is the legacy of the Bush administration.
For General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker to come before us and talk about staying the course for another 9 or 10 months, to me betrays the obvious. We have given the Iraqi people more than any nation can ask, in terms of human life and treasure. It is estimated that the total cost of this war will be somewhere in the range of $3 trillion. What could we have done with that money in America had it been spent for America's strength? Just imagine: We could have provided 5.7 million Americans with health coverage each year since the war began, hired 430,000 new teachers across America, built 1 million units of affordable housing, and provided 4-year scholarships at State universities for 4.7 million students. Instead, the money has been sunk in Iraq.
Just so the record is straight, the Iraqis are not paupers. They have bountiful sources of oil that they sell. While we labor with one of the largest deficits--in fact, the largest deficit in the history of the United States, a debt, a mortgage we are passing on to our children--while we labor with that and are asked by the President to send another $100 billion into Iraq with the next request coming in just a few days, the Iraqis today have a surplus in their treasury of over $25 billion. We are sacrificing in America to send money to Iraq to rebuild their country while they are building a surplus in their treasury from their oil revenues. What is wrong with this picture? There is no earthly explanation for that, and it is a fact.
I think, too, of what this means in the long term for the next President. That next President is going to inherit a terrible situation, finding an honorable way out of Iraq. I notice when the Republicans refer to that they always talk about a precipitous withdrawal. No one is calling for that. But the Democratic candidates for President are talking about bringing our troops home. I do not believe there is any other way for the Iraqis to be convinced that this is their nation and their future and their responsibility. As long as they can dial 9-1-1 and order up the best and bravest soldiers in the world to come from America and defend them, they are not going to accept their responsibility and do what is necessary.
Meanwhile, our military is devastated by this war. West Point-educated officers are leaving the Army in record numbers. Between 2001 and 2004, there was a doubling of the Army's divorce rate and a dramatic increase in suicide among the members of the military, particularly from the National Guard. In addition to that, we know we are waiving requirements for recruits. One out of eight new Army recruits has a criminal record, some with serious charges. We are lowering the requirements for basic education to bring in recruits. We are offering thousands of dollars to 19-year-olds fresh out of high school if they will just sign up to be in the Army. That is not good for the future of our country. It is not good for the future of our military.
We know that an estimated 90,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed, and maybe more, innocent people caught in the crossfire of a war. We know there are literally millions of Iraqi refugees, and shamefully the United States has been unwilling to even accept Iraqi refugees who have risked their lives for our troops and our safety. It is just unconscionable that countries around the world are accepting these refugees and the United States, which has needed them and used them, refuses to accept them. It is a fact.
We have dangerously emboldened Iran, which is moving closer to the development of nuclear weapons with this morning's announcement. In fact, it was actually Iran that helped broker an end to the recent violence in Basra.
If this invasion of Iraq was determined to show the strength of the United States, it is hard to show while we are still there 6 years later with no end in sight. If this invasion of Iraq was designed to diminish the power of Iran in the Middle East, it is hard to believe anyone could make that assertion today, with proof to back it up. That is the reality of what we face.
When I hear Senator McCain and Republican leaders talk about staying the course, I understand--and I hope Americans do--that we need to change the course. We need to change the direction of this war. We need to start to bring our brave soldiers home to the victor's welcome they deserve. We need to start to say to the Iraqis: Stand up and defend your own country. We need to start extricating ourselves from Iraq so this money we are now spending to build Iraq and make it stronger can give us strength right here at home. Instead of creating jobs in Iraq, we should be creating good-paying jobs right here in America, jobs that can't be outsourced, jobs that make a decent paycheck with benefits and health care and a promise of a good pension. We should be investing in this country's schools, in this country's hospitals, in this country's infrastructure, and the Iraqis should use their oil revenues to strengthen their own country and come together and make the hard political decisions which they have avoided.
I will close and turn it over to my colleague, Senator Cardin from Maryland, by telling you that the debate will continue, and in a few weeks the President's supplemental request will be before us. It is another opportunity for us to engage this Chamber in a debate. I know and we all know that the majority of Republicans refuse to join us in talking about the change in direction in this war. We know as well that this President will veto anything that changes his policies. He is determined to leave office with Iraq in the same condition that we know it today, with no change in basic policy before us.
The time is coming and coming soon--in November--when the American people have the last word. Finally, after 4 years, they get a chance to speak. They get a chance to pick a leader, to change the direction of this country in the right way, to make certain we have economic policies that build America and make it stronger--our families and our businesses--and to make certain we have a new policy in Iraq which really focuses on capturing Osama bin Laden, beating back the al-Qaida wherever they are found--in Pakistan or Afghanistan--making America safe from terrorism, and stopping what has been a longstanding and negative impact of this President's policy in Iraq.
I yield the floor.
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