Brian Jones: “When I was home, like most Members, during the Easter break, I had the opportunity to read in the Raleigh, North…”

“When I was home, like most Members, during the Easter break, I had the opportunity to read in the Raleigh, North Carolina, paper an article that just really took me backwards. The title of the article is: ``Iran Is Victor in Post-War Iraq.'' The first paragraph says: Ten years after the United States-led invasion to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the geopolitical winner of the war appears to be the common enemy: Iran. Mr. Speaker, I think most of us in the House know that 25, 30 years ago, our Nation supported Saddam Hussein when he was fighting the Iranians. This is what frustrates the American people. We create a bad policy; we continue to support a bad policy. It makes no sense. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak to the inspector general for the Iraq Project, and when I get the report, I would maybe like to share more information. Just for example, approximately $11.7 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse. What makes this so ironic is that the Iranians are possibly becoming the beneficiaries of this money. The taxpayers now are spending money in Iraq that could possibly be going into the coffers of the Iranian people. I guess that makes sense to most of my colleagues, but it doesn't to me. I encourage the American people to go to www.costofwar.com. If you can get it on the Internet, you need to see it. The American people need to understand what is happening in Afghanistan and Iraq. You will see a combined total of $1.4 trillion, and it's a running total.…”