Maurice Hinchey: “let me first say that I have a great deal of respect for both the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman…”

“let me first say that I have a great deal of respect for both the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) and for the work that they do here, and there is much in this resolution with which I agree. However, there is a lot in here that is misleading. In fact, I think that much of this resolution is an exercise in self-deception as well as an attempt to deceive others. Let me just give my colleagues an example. We have here on page 4, the House of Representatives offers its continued support to the people and government of Iraq as they deal with the consequences of decades of misrule by the former regime of Saddam Hussein. Well, that is interesting and right, but it does not say that we supported that regime of Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein took office in 1980. It was not more than 3 years later that the government of President Reagan sent Donald Rumsfeld to Iraq to begin a relationship with that country, and the relationship resulted in the transfer of billions of dollars of American material and money to the government of Saddam Hussein right on up to the advent of the first Gulf War.…”