John Spratt: “I thank Mr. Skelton for yielding. Mr. Speaker, the mission in Iraq has been plagued from the start by poor intelligence…”

“I thank Mr. Skelton for yielding. Mr. Speaker, the mission in Iraq has been plagued from the start by poor intelligence, by poor planning for the post-war, and by disdain for the advice from our allies and even our officials. Ignoring the Army's Chief of Staff, the Secretary of Defense deployed too few troops, failing to foresee the insurgency that followed the war. Many of those deployed were not properly equipped with body armor or armored vehicles, forced to improvise in the field. The troops were assigned duty that they were not trained for. But let me add here they have performed magnificently. They rose to the challenge. They showed they still have that GI genius for field expedience. They improvised. But the lack of planning and the lack of preparation has cost us dearly; 2,514 Americans have paid the ultimate price: they have died. 17,774 have been seriously wounded. Since this is the end of the debate, let me go to the bottom line. First of all, let me say the most important cost we have incurred is for the precious lives that were lost, 2,514; 1,774 who were wounded. But the costs also are considerable. They are not a determinant, obviously. We have troops in the field and are unstinting in our support of them. But when the costs run into hundreds of billions of dollars, they have to be considered. Here is what the cost of the first Persian gulf war was: $61 billion. Of that our allies chipped in in kind $10.6 billion, in cash $48 billion.…”