Posted October 22, 2007 to Politics | Section Home | Print

Five Year Anniversary of AUMF

By. U. S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.)

When the Iraq War began in March of 2003, President Bush told the country it would be a swift and easy victory over Saddam's regime, and the formation of a stable, democratic state would naturally follow.

After nearly five years of broken promises and misdirection on the progress of the War in Iraq, 3,814 of our brave men and women have perished, and almost $500 billion has been poured into the War effort.

The social and physical infrastructure of Iraq has been decimated over the past 5 years, as over 4 million Iraqi refugees have fled their homes, and perhaps hundreds of thousands more have been killed as a result of our war.

Last week marked the 5th anniversary of the U.S. House of Representatives' vote to authorize this War in Iraq-- a somber anniversary to be sure. Many of us voted against the war authorization in the first place, and many more Members wish they had voted against it. But here we are, five years later, saddled with a seemingly endless war in Iraq that continues to drain the lifeblood of this country.

Insanity has been defined as doing the same thing repeatedly, yet expecting different results. Continuing to support the war in Iraq has long since met the conditions for insanity.

Despite wide opposition to the war, thirteen different times Congress has voted to provide funding to the Department of Defense for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thirteen different times Congress has convened to debate the merits of this war in the Middle East, and despite wide opposition to the war, thirteen times this body has sent a check to the Administration to keep on fighting.

Each time, this Congress labels the funds as "off-budget, emergency appropriations," as if each time we're surprised that the War has continued this long. Because of this, the Republicans--supposedly the party of fiscal conservatism--have not been held accountable for the enormous financial cost of this protracted war.

Each time, the President makes a spectacular show of how much progress is being made in Iraq, how victory is right around the corner, and how unpatriotic it would be to leave with victory so close at hand. The shameful truth is that President Bush is more interested in protecting his own legacy than in a policy that actually addresses our national security interests

President Bush still has not provided the nation with a plan for success in Iraq, and cannot even describe what success looks like. The American people are frustrated by the competing rhetoric and political messages surrounding this contentious issue.

Today, let there be no confusion about what I stand for: I want to end the War in Iraq and bring all of our troops home. This can only be accomplished through legislation to only provide additional war funding for a full and safe withdrawal of our troops and military contractors- not for an open ended continuation of the war.

As Chairwoman and co-founder of the Out of Iraq Congressional Caucus, I can promise my fellow members of Congress, my constituents, and my fellow Americans that I will fight every single day to end this war in Iraq.

Five years have passed since this Congress authorized the War in Iraq. For each day that passes, more brave Americans are killed in Iraq, more of our tax dollars are wasted, more damage is done to our international credibility, and the Iraqi people move further away from a peaceful resolution to the violence that plagues their country.

Let's bring our troops home to their families as soon as possible and refocus this country's resources on the issues that matter the most to the American people. It is time to end the War in Iraq.