Third Anniversary of the War in Iraq

THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF THE WAR IN IRAQ -- (House of Representatives - March 28, 2006)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) is recognized for 5 minutes.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, last week, on March 19, our Nation marked a somber milestone. We began the fourth year of the Iraqi war. It is becoming quite clear that this falsely conceived war is proceeding disastrously, with no end in sight. The administration's repugnant use of the phrase as bombing began, ``shock and awe,'' has deteriorated into a ``knockdown and raw, last man left standing'' war of attrition.

The situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate precipitously. In the last month alone, there has been an escalation of sectarian violence. Dozens of suicide bombings, insurgent attacks and the like have left almost 1,000 more people dead since a bombing destroyed the dome of Samarra's Golden Mosque, a sacred and holy site to Shiite Muslims.

Iraq is still without a functioning government, as the Iraqi parliament has convened just once and for only 30 minutes. Moreover, there was an automobile ban in place throughout Baghdad to prevent car bombings that same day. A city-wide ban on cars, Mr. Speaker, is not a safe city. A nation where journalists cannot travel to report is not a safe country.

Headlines from newspapers around the globe have the same theme, civil war in Iraq. The administration, however, does not seem to see it that way. The President was in Ohio last week and made the following comment: ``Americans look at the violence that they see each night on their television screens and wonder how I can remain so optimistic about the prospects of success in Iraq. They wonder what I see that they do not.''

Well, I think the President has it the other way around, Mr. Speaker. The world sees a lot this President doesn't. Three years ago, we saw the administration did not have a plan to win the peace, and he and his narrow group of advisers led us down the path to war. We also see what he cannot see today, that our presence in Iraq has led to an increase in violence and terrorist activities in the Middle East and around the world, making us less safe as a nation.

Three years ago, on the eve of the invasion, I warned, and I quote myself, ``Even if we take the ground, we do not share the culture. In the end, we have to learn to exist in a world with religious states that we may not agree with, and find ways to cooperate.''

So the President has traded a brutal sectarian regime for an unstable nation that looks more and more every day like a dawning theocracy.

Events in the last few weeks seem to show this is indeed becoming the case. By refusing to prepare for the possibility that we would be considered occupiers rather than liberators, these architects of this war never afforded an opportunity to truly win the peace. Hospitals and medical services were ignored. Iraqi organizations open to the West were never consulted. Western media was not culturally appropriate inside that region. The seeds for unrest were sown before U.S. troops even entered Iraq.

Achieving military success without winning the hearts and minds of the public is a hollow victory, and now the President tells us troops will remain in Iraq until he leaves office in 2009, who knows when.

May I remind the body this President held a theatrically staged press event on a U.S. aircraft carrier on May 1, 2003, with a ``Mission Accomplished'' banner flying in the background. Major combat operations in Iraq have ended, he announced.

Two weeks ago, the United States launched the largest aerial assault in Iraq since 2003. More than 1,500 of our soldiers were deploy in the Samarra region to root out insurgent strongholds and seize weapons caches and the like. That sounds like a major combat operation to me, and it sounds like we are losing ground rather than making progress.

Statements by those in the administration prior to the invasion show how wrong the Bush administration has been. Donald Rumsfeld in February 2003 said, ``It is unknowable how long the conflict will last. It could be 6 days, 6 weeks, I doubt 6 months.''

Vice President Cheney in March 2003 said, ``We will, in fact, be greeted as liberators. I think it will go relatively quickly ..... (in) weeks rather than months.'' We are into the fourth year, almost as long as it took to fight World War II.

The toll this war has taken is staggering. Since March 2003, 2,322 U.S. soldiers have died, another 18,000 troops have been injured as a result of hostilities, with numbers doubling between 2003 and 2004 and increasing again in 2005.

Mr. Speaker, this evening I wish to place in the RECORD names of Ohioans, 104 of them, brave patriots who have died in service to our country in Iraq. God bless them.

Ohioans Dead Through Operation Iraqi Freedom (as of March 4, 2006):

Anderson, Nathan Richard; Andres, Joseph John Jr.; Barkey, Michael Christopher; Bates, Todd Michael; Bell, Timothy Michael Jr; Benford, Jason A; Bernholtz, Eric James; Biskie, Benjamin Walter; Boskovitch, Jeffrey A; Bourdon, Elvis; Bowen, Samuel Robert; Brownfield, Andrew David; and Buryj, Jesse Ryan.

Christian, Brett Thomas; Cifuentes, Michael Joseph; Conover, Steven Daniel; Davids, Wesley Graham; Derga, Dustin Alan; Deyarmin, Daniel N Jr; Dixon, Christopher Robert; Dowdy, Robert John; Dyer, Christopher Jenkins; Eckert, Gary Andrew Jr; Eckfield, Robert Franklin Jr; Erdy, Nicholas Brandon; and Etterllng, Jonathan Edward.

Finke, Michael Wayne Jr; Fitzgerald, Dustin Robert; Ford David, Harrison IV; Garmback, Joseph Martin Jr; Gilbert, Richard Alan Jr; Godwin, Todd Justin; Grella, Devin James; Gurtner, Christian Daniel; Hardy, Richard Allen; Harper, Bradley Jared; Hawkins, Omer Thomas II; Hines, Timothy James Jr; Hodge, Jeremy Michael; and Hoffman, Justin Fenton.

Ivy, Kendall Howard II; Johnson, Adam Robert; Keeling, Thomas O;Kinney, Lester Ormond II; Kinslow, Anthony David; Knight, Timothy Allen; Knop, Allen James; Kreuter, David Kenneth John; Kuhns, Larry Robert Jr; Landrus, Sean Gregory; Large, Bryan William; and Lyons, Christopher P.

Martin, Ryan Abern; McVicker, Daniel M; Mendezruiz, David A; Mendoza, Ramon Juan Jr; Messmer, Nicolas Edward; Meyer, Harrison James; Miller, James Hoyt IV; Mitchell, Curtis Anthony; Montgomery, Brian P; Morgan, Richard Lynn Jr; Murray, Jeremy Enlow; Neighbor, Gavin Lee; Nolan, Allen Duane; and Nowacki, Andrew Walter.

Oberleitner, Branden Frederick; Odums, Charles Edward II; Ott, Kevin Charles; Pintor, Dennis Lloyd; Pratt, Daniel Joseph; Prazynski, Taylor B; Prince, Kevin William; Pummill, Richard Thomas; Ramey, Richard Patrick; Ramsey, Joshua Adam; Reed, Aaron Howard; Reese, Aaron Todd; Rock, Nathaniel S; and Rockhold, Marlin Tyrone.

Schamberg, Kurt Daniel; Schroeder, Edward August II; Scott, David Allen; Seesan, Aaron N; Seymour, Devon P; Shepherd, Adam Roger; Shepherd, Daniel Michael; Sloan, Brandon Ulysses; Smith, Kevin Scott; Smith, Michael James Jr; Souslin, Kenneth Clarence; Spann, Jacob D; Sparks, Jason Lee; Squires, Brad D; Swaney, Robert Adam; and Swisher, Tyler Bobbitt.

Tipton, John Edgar; Van Dusen, Brian Keith; Vandayburg, Allen Jeffrey; Webb, Charles Joseph; Wightman, William Brett; Wilkins, Charles Langdon III; Williams, Andre L; Wobler, Zachary Ryan; and Zimmer, Nicholaus Eugene.

Ohioans Dead Through Operation Enduring Freedom (as of March 4, 2006):

Egnor, Jody Lynn; Foraker, Ryan Dane; Freeman, Daniel Jason; Goare, Shamus Otto; Good, Alecia Sabrina; Hickey, Julie Rochelle; Jones, Darrell Ray Jr; McDaniel, William Louis II; Oneill, Michael Christopher; and Owens, Bartt Derek.

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