Jun 15, 2006- Redeploy and be Ready

HON. MARCY KAPTUR
 OF OHIO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, JUNE 15

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Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California for yielding and for herleadership on a real strategy against terrorism.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this resolution. It contains noplan, no solution, no way forward. I support the Murtha plan, which clearlyaims to more strategically engage U.S. forces to redeploy and beready.

Indeed, the invasion in Iraqhas diverted our Nation from the war on terrorism and created a new terroristtraining platform. Across the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, and thePacific, United Statespolicy has engendered more hatred, yielding a counter-reaction of moreradicalism and protest.

In Egypt, the mostpopulous Arab nation and a key ally in the Middle East and Africa,recent parliamentary elections yielded a quantum leap in representatives fromthe Muslim Brotherhood, a radical anti-Western party. This group now comprises88 members of their parliament, up nearly 25 percent from 17 in the 2000election.

In the Palestinian Authority, the peace process with Israel is dead.Rather than parties moving toward peace with Israel, we witness another tragicbreakdown as Fatah and Hamas mass in the streets and Israelis and Palestiniansshoot and kill with abandon.

Mogadishu, Somalia has just fallen into thehands of Muslim extremists. That failed state is another breeding ground forterrorism.

In Afghanistanmore loss of life has resulted this year than at any time since the U.S.-ledinvasion and President Karzai remains a prisoner of circumstance, unable tomove freely without heavily armed guards.

Mr. Speaker, we are not winning the war on terrorism. The situation in Iraq teeters onall-out civil war between the Sunnis and the Shiias.

To win the war on terrorism, the United States must use our militaryassets wisely, not just robustly. We must transfer policing to Iraqi forces andremove ourselves as a source of friction.

Secondly, we must decouple ourselves from the repressive oil dictatorshipsthat create regional antagonisms there and become energy independent here athome.

And, thirdly, the Palestinian-Israeli standoff must be elbowed to the peacetable, because it is a primary lightning rod for unrest across the region.

Our current presence in Iraqis counterproductive in the broader war on terrorism. Meanwhile, diplomaticchannels are totally frozen by this administration. Unfortunately, thisresolution offers no plan. It offers no solution. It offers no wayforward.  This Congress should support the Murtha plan for ourmilitary forces, redeploy and be ready.