Mr. Speaker, my colleagues, the president was right to veto the bill that we have before us. And i believe that the house today will sustain the president's veto because the bill that we have before us that is purportedly there to pay for our efforts in afghanistan and iraq and other issues in my opinion ties the hands of our generals and our troops on the ground and almost mandates failure in iraq . . I think it's time for us to work across the aisle, to produce a clean bill that the president can sign into law, to sustain our efforts in afghanistan and in iraq , to make sure that at the end of the day we have victory.
But the fundamental question that we're all dealing with in this chamber and elsewhere is, why is iraq important? Why is winning in iraq so important? In my view and in others, al qaeda has made iraq the central front in their war with us. Those aren't my words. Those are their words. They started this war when they attacked us all through the 1990's and when they attacked us in new york city on 9/11. And while we went to iraq to take out saddam hussein and to help build a more stable democratically elected nation in that world and bring more stability there, it's turned into much more than that.
According to the memorial institute for the prevention of terrorism, a nonprofit organization funded by a grant from the homeland security department, iraq today is home to 77 different terrorist organizations. They have made this, they have made iraq the central front in their war with us. We all know that there's a growing movement around the world of radical islamic terrorists that want to kill americans and want to kill our allies.
They're operating all over the world and they're attacking people all over the world. Just think about where they've been over the last several weeks, whether it was bangladesh last month or elsewhere. They're continuing their efforts to try to gain control of the world and part of that effort is aimed directly at us, americans, freedom-loving people, up against people who don't want freedom for people, that want to impose islamic law, radical islamic law on all of us. And so they've made iraq the central front in their war with us. And if we walk out of iraq , if we don't give this plan a chance to succeed, we encourage the terrorists. We'll encourage them.
They'll recruit new people all over the world. They'll have a safe haven in iraq itself. We will destabilize the entitle of the bill middle east, including the very existence of israel, and who doesn't believe that if we don't deal with the terrorists in iraq that we won't be dealing with them on the streets of america?
That'swhy iraq is important. And if we're not willing to stand up to the terrorists and defeat them in iraq , when and where will we draw the line to protect the american people, our ultimate responsibility?
We have a serious responsibility, and there's no greater responsibility. For those of us who serve in this chamber tn to provide for the safety and security of our constituents and our people in our country. So tell me, if we're not going to stand up to them in iraq , if we're not going to take them on in iraq and defeat them there, when and where will we do it? And the fact is that our troops are doing a great job in iraq under a very difficult circumstance.
They deserve the support of all the members of this house. And so i say to my colleagues, it's time for the games to stop, it's time for political points to be taken off the board, and it's time for us to sit down as members on both sides of the aisle and give the president a clean bill that funds our troops in iraq and afghanistan, that furthers our effort to take on the terrorists and defeat them, and doesn't do it with some $20 billion worth of excess spending that has nothing to do with this bill. I urge my colleagues to sustain the president's veto.
UPDATE:
Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) today issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to sustain President Bush’s veto on the emergency war spending supplemental:“The President was right to veto this bill, and I’m proud Republicans sustained his veto. American troops fighting the Global War on Terror deserve our support, not political posturing and the message of defeat that this bill would have sent to the enemy. The American people want Congress to pass a clean bill that gives our troops the support they need to succeed in their mission and return home safely – without tying the hands of our military and without attaching billions of dollars in extra spending unrelated to the war on terror.
“As the majority party in Congress, Democrats have an obligation to put forth a clean bill. Including surrender dates or other conditions that similarly telegraph to our enemies a clear strategy for American defeat does not strengthen our security, it threatens it. Republicans stand ready and eager to work with our Democrat colleagues on getting a clean bill to the President as quickly as possible, but we will stand firm in opposition if Democrats continue down an indefensible path.”
