Lynn C. Woolsey: “today is the 162nd time that I have come to the floor during Special Orders to discuss the U.S. role in Iraq.…”

“today is the 162nd time that I have come to the floor during Special Orders to discuss the U.S. role in Iraq. Unfortunately, very little has changed on the ground in Iraq over the course of these last 3 years and 162 speeches. Unfortunately, also, official visits to the region by our administration and those who represent the United States of America must still be in secret because the area is so very, very violent. Our troops increasingly face snipers, roadside attacks, ambushes, and improvised explosive devices, IEDs. Bombings continue to kill and wound nearly 100 Iraq civilians daily, and the country has slid into a civil war. One thing that has changed is this, the United States is now playing the role of occupier. President Bush claimed that the U.S. would go into the Iraq conflict as a liberator. These days, the more accurate statement is that the United States is an occupier. Our brave men and women of the Armed Forces have not been trained or equipped for this very mission. They are doing the very best they can under the circumstances, but their civilian superiors have let them down. Right now, the best way to support our troops is to set forth a plan to bring them home. In light of all of this, tomorrow several of my colleagues and I will introduce a bill that will revoke the President's Iraqi war powers.…”