Bill Delahunt: “I would suggest that that incompetence has characterized this administration for the past 5 years. And I say that with…”

“I would suggest that that incompetence has characterized this administration for the past 5 years. And I say that with no glee. I say that purely from a concern about the quality of life that our people are experiencing here in this country as a result of miscalculations, incompetence, and a blind belief and denial of reality. Do you remember prior to the war when we were told by the Secretary of Defense, and now I am going to quote Mr. Rumsfeld, ``When it comes to reconstruction, before we turn to the American taxpayer, we will turn first to the resources of the Iraqi Government and the international community.'' His deputy Paul Wolfowitz, he made the following statement: There is a lot of money to pay for this that does not have to be U.S. taxpayer money and it starts with the assets of the Iraqi people. We are dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction. If you remember the name of President Bush's chief economic adviser, Larry Lindsey, when he predicted that the cost of the war with Iraq would range somewhere between 100 and $200 billion, he was dismissed, he was fired. I do not want tonight to talk about intelligence and the issue of weapons of mass destruction and links to al Qaeda, et cetera, et cetera; but there has consistently been mistakes and miscalculations because there is such a conviction of righteousness, if you will.”