Lynn C. Woolsey: “today, September 21, 2006, the world celebrates International Peace Day. Unfortunately, as we look around the world, we…”

“today, September 21, 2006, the world celebrates International Peace Day. Unfortunately, as we look around the world, we see more unrest and more people living in poverty, and certainly not more genuine peace. This administration has chosen the road of conflict and war, leaving diplomacy and discussion on the side of the road. The President's cowboy swagger and use of ``You're either with us or you're against us'' gets us absolutely nowhere. Mr. Speaker, today, International Peace Day, is the appropriate time for a new direction for our foreign policy and for our country. That is why on Tuesday of next week I will be hosting a third congressional forum on the occupation of Iraq. I am doing this because until the Congress begins real oversight into the tragedies of our occupation in Iraq, forums like these serve as one of the only ways, the only ways to examine our actions. I am organizing this forum on the cost of our actions in Iraq because President Bush's Iraq policy has been an absolute failure and our Nation will suffer. Our Nation will suffer its effects for years to come. Besides making us less safe, it has ruined our Nation's credibility in the eyes of the world, and it has made us worse off economically and militarily as well. On Tuesday we will hear from experts, including Lieutenant General William Odem and former CIA employee and Georgetown professor Dr. Paul Pillar.…”