Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 113 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 113 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 159 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2013 No. 40 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was Obama has also committed us to an ad- sional Oversight of Afghanistan Agree- called to order by the Speaker pro tem- ditional 10 years in Afghanistan thanks ment Act of 2013, to make sure that the pore (Mr. COLLINS of New York). to a strategic security agreement he President does not bypass Congress as f made without Congress voting on it or he continues to do, but gives us a even debating it. chance to debate any security agree- DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO This weekend I read two articles that ment that will keep our troops in Af- TEMPORE really spoke to the corruption hap- ghanistan past 2014. The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- pening in Afghanistan. One was an AP Mr. Speaker, it is our job as Rep- fore the House the following commu- article I read in my hometown paper ti- resentatives to make sure the voices of nication from the Speaker: tled: ‘‘U.S. Helicopter Crashes in Af- the American people are being heard, WASHINGTON, DC, ghanistan Killing One.’’ And the other and it is only fair that we have a de- March 19, 2013. is from The New York Times titled: bate in Congress on how long our coun- I hereby appoint the Honorable CHRIS COL- ‘‘Afghans Protest U.S. Special Forces: try’s future involvement with Afghani- LINS to act as Speaker pro tempore on this Complaints about Night Raids Sparked stan will continue. day. Cause for Withdrawal.’’ Mr. Speaker, as always, I bring down JOHN A. BOEHNER, Speaker of the House of Representatives. I will quote from the first article: a poster that shows the cost of war. In The crashes come as United States officials this case, you can see these marines, f are grappling with tough talk from President Mr. Speaker, carrying a coffin, a flag- MORNING-HOUR DEBATE Hamid Karzai whose recent anti-American draped coffin. How many more coffins rhetoric has complicated relations at a time have to be carried by the soldiers and The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- when international troops are withdrawing ant to the order of the House of Janu- from the war. the marines and the airmen and the Navy of this country when the Amer- ary 3, 2013, the Chair will now recog- The article continues saying: ican people demand that Congress pull nize Members from lists submitted by Karzai started the week by accusing the the majority and minority leaders for United States and the Taliban of being in our troops out of Afghanistan? It is too morning-hour debate. collusion on two deadly suicide bombings long to be there until 2014; it is too The Chair will alternate recognition last weekend in an effort to create insta- long to be there until 2024. between the parties, with each party bility and give security forces an excuse to May God bless our men and women in limited to 1 hour and each Member stay. uniform, and God please wake up Con- other than the majority and minority Karzai is one person we cannot trust, gress to bring our troops home. leaders and the minority whip limited and yet we are funding him $8 billion a f to 5 minutes each, but in no event shall month. The New York Times article 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. states that Karzai issued a statement IRAQ WAR f that ‘‘referred to U.S. forces in Afghan- istan as ‘infidels,’ ’’ echoing language The SPEAKER pro tempore. The AFGHANISTAN used by the Taliban. Chair recognizes the gentleman from The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Mr. Speaker, I just do not understand Washington (Mr. MCDERMOTT) for 5 Chair recognizes the gentleman from why more Members of the House are minutes. North Carolina (Mr. JONES) for 5 min- not more concerned about President Mr. MCDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, al- utes. Obama’s 10-year security agreement to though I rise to honor the 10th anniver- Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, this week keep our troops in Afghanistan until sary of the Iraq war, what I really want is the 10th anniversary of the unneces- 2024—10 more years after 2014—2024. It to do today is ask: Why? Ten years ago, sary war in Iraq. I urge my fellow makes absolutely no sense. We are fi- I stood on this floor and said we were Members and the American public to nancially broke as a Nation. entering a war under false pretenses. watch MSNBC’s documentary, ‘‘Hubris: I am currently in the process of find- No weapons of mass destruction later, I The Selling of the Iraq War,’’ on Friday ing out exactly how much money it is have never been so sad as to be right. night of this week at 9 o’clock. The going to cost the American taxpayer to We took out Saddam Hussein with as documentary sheds light on the manip- keep our troops in this corrupt country much forethought as we gave to arm- ulated intelligence that got us into for another decade past 2014. Whether ing him just a few years earlier. We Iraq. the cost is $1 or $1 trillion is too much. scooped him out of office and thought a Unfortunately, we have not learned Congresswoman ROSA DELAURO and I new democracy would suddenly flower from all we lost in Iraq, as President have introduced H.R. 125, the Congres- in its place. b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H1571 . VerDate Mar 14 2013 03:02 Mar 20, 2013 Jkt 029060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A19MR7.000 H19MRPT1 tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with HOUSE H1572 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE March 19, 2013 Last week, Robert Dreyfuss wrote an gardless of nationality, should be Oddly enough, the rest of the media article in The Nation that I would like taken lightly. I hope it will remind us hasn’t picked up on the Times reports to enter into the CONGRESSIONAL as to why the next time. And I hope it on the CIA training efforts in Jordan, RECORD. He explains that the CIA is won’t take another war to get that an- and the Times itself hasn’t elaborated. currently training Syrian rebels, some swer. How many gangsters are is the CIA of whom have Sunni fundamentalist f training in Jordan? What are they ties, at the same time that it is fight- doing? THE CIA TAKES OPPOSITE SIDES ing Sunni rebels in Iraq. Recently, doz- It all comes together in the recent IN SYRIA AND IRAQ ens of Syrian soldiers fled to Iraq, only reports that dozens of Syrian soldiers, to be killed by Iraqi Sunnis. He asked Mr. MCDERMOTT. What, really, loyal to Assad, who fled into Iraq re- the question: could be more bizarre than this: as the cently, were then massacred by Iraqi When will the United States learn that it United States ramps up its aid to Syr- Sunni crazies. doesn’t know enough about the Middle East ia’s ragtag rebels, whose backbone is We blundered, bungling, into Iraq in to go charging in there, seemingly without a comprised of radical Islamists and 2003 without knowing really a damn clue about what it all means? Sunni fundamentalists, some with ties thing about the country we invaded. So here we are: 10 years of to Al Qaeda, the CIA is busily engaged When will the United States learn that neoconservative hawks preaching that in combat inside Iraq with the very it doesn’t know enough about the Mid- we can franchise American democracy same radical Islamists and Sunni fun- dle East to go charging in there with and freedom; 10 years of quicksand di- damentalists, some with ties to Al guns, seemingly without a clue about plomacy; 10 years of wrong answers, Qaeda. what it all means? Yep, that’s right. and we still don’t know the question. f What has been the cost of all of this? We’re backing the same guys in Syria And I don’t mean financially. Because, that we’re fighting in Iraq. b 1010 Of course, we shouldn’t be involved in yes, we’ve spent probably a trillion or Iraq in any way, shape or form, but try A CALL FOR A BALANCED BUDGET more on this war, or will. Yes, as we telling that to the CIA. According to speak, we are cutting food assistance The SPEAKER pro tempore. The the Wall Street Journal: to kids in this country and funding for Chair recognizes the gentleman from The Central Intelligence Agency is Montana (Mr. DAINES) for 5 minutes. R&D that would drive our economy. ramping up support to elite Iraqi But we can’t appropriate a sum of Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I arrived antiterrorism units to better fight al Qaeda here in Washington, D.C., to serve the money to fix the real cost of Iraq. We affiliates, amid alarm in Washington about can’t pay back the lives of 4,486 Amer- spillover from the civil war in neighboring people of Montana and my country ican men and women who have died Syria, according to US officials.