Patrick Leahy

Apparently not in Iraq

Al Qaeda wasn't in Iraq when we started this war. They are there now.

I'm sorry that those that tried to find the truth about allegations of prison abuse in Iraq and in Afghanistan and in Guantanamo were ignored or brushed off for more than 1 year.

I'm sorry there's no real plan, despite a year-long $5 million effort by the State Department, to stop the looting that greeted our soldiers upon Saddam's fall.

I'm sorry that some of our closest allies and friends, like Mexico and Canada, even the countries that you dismissingly called 'Old Europe,' were alienated because they disagreed with our strategy of preemptive war.

I'm sorry that truth-tellers in the administration, like General Shinseki and Lawrence Lindsey, were hounded out of their job because they had the temerity to suggest realistic numbers both for our troop level and for what this war is…

I'm sorry about administration officials, led by the Vice President, repeatedly trying to link Saddam Hussein to 9/11, when there never was any link.

I'm sorry that the President taunted Iraqi resistance fighters to 'bring it on' while our troops were still in harm's way.

I'm sorry that someone in the administration 'gave currency to a fraud,' to quote George Will, by putting, in the President's State of the Union speech, that Iraq was trying to buy uranium in Africa.

I'm sorry that this administration repeatedly, insistently, and unrelentingly justified preemptive war by insisting that Saddam Hussein not only had weapons of mass destruction, but he was hell bent on using them against us and our allies.

What can we do to help you head a little faster?

The reason I mention this, General, you would get strong support as far as the money is concerned from both Republicans and Democrats on this committee.

Do we have a tracking system? Do we know how to follow this?

Do we have provisions to really treat this? Do we have provisions to give the counseling, to do the identifying of it, number one; treat it, number two, and with useful numbers of our armed services at work trying to retain them and their…

We can replace an arm. We can replace a leg. And I do not say that in a cavalier fashion by any means.

I am concerned about the adequate health care for our armed services, whether it is active duty or Reserves.

I thank you for having the hearing.

Providing clear authority for the National Guard to perform operations--in addition to training--under Title 32 would significantly strengthen the flexibility for addressing domestic missions.

Do you feel that domestic operational use of National Guardsmen in a title 32 status would aid in providing the necessary flexibility for our states to respond to domestic emergencies such as unprovoked terrorist attacks?

This is not a partisan issue, and you certainly have not made it one--who are very, very concerned.

If they keep delaying it at the Pentagon, I think it is going to hurt your readiness.

I would think there would be some urgency on this.

Last year the subcommittee recognized that almost 20 percent of the National Guard and Reserve did not have health insurance.

I joined my colleagues, Senators Graham and DeWine and Daschle, recently to write the Secretary of Defense to find out how we can speed this up.

If it was not for our Guard and Reserves, we could not be carrying out our missions around the world.