Bill Delahunt: “I am not suggesting that that was bribe free, but in the end, the net cost to the American taxpayers was some $7…”

“I am not suggesting that that was bribe free, but in the end, the net cost to the American taxpayers was some $7 billion. Now, we have already, if this war supplemental is approved, we are in this adventure in the amount of $166 billion and well on our way, well on our way to hundreds of billions of dollars more, and we still do not know how we get out of it. Let me just conclude by saying this. I hear about how things are going so well. We heard, of course, on the floor during the debate on the war resolution how we would be welcomed as liberators. Well, the truth is the Iraqi people want us out. They do not want us there. Even our own appointed 25-member Iraqi Governing Council have suggested that we accelerate this program because they can do it much cheaper. And I will allude to that at the end if I have any time left, but let me read what I think are some fascinating polling results that were conducted by Gallup and Zogby, two well-respected American polling firms. This is what was produced by the Gallup poll: Countrywide, only 33 percent of the Iraqi people thought they were better off then they were before the invasion, 33 percent, and 47 percent said they were worse off. And 94 percent said that Bagdad was a more dangerous place for them to live.”