Ike Skelton

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Speaker, it is a privilege to share this body and this floor with the remarkable gentleman from Texas. I applaud him for his patriotism, his courage, and commitment to America. Madam Speaker, we have had a long debate on this resolution. I have listened to critics, and I find it quite interesting that the criticism is focused almost exclusively on what this resolution doesn't say, rather than what it does. Let me review, if I may. The resolution says two simple things: We support the troops completely, wholeheartedly, now and in the future; and we disapprove of the White House's plan to deploy more than 20,000 additional combat troops to Iraq. That is what we are voting on today, and nothing said on this floor or in this Chamber will change the fact that that is what is before us. I oppose the President's plan because it will embroil our troops even more deeply in a sectarian conflict. Some call this conflict a civil war, some call this more complicated than a civil war, and, either way, it is a conflict we cannot resolve and which ultimately cannot be resolved militarily. The President's plan to deploy more troops is simply not the answer. It cannot fix the three irretrievable mistakes made in 2003 when the administration insisted on de-Baathification, dissolving the Iraqi army, and shutting down the state-run industries, throwing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis out of work and creating untold numbers of insurgents. The President's plan hastily put together is insufficient in a number of ways: It is insufficient in the requirements for progress it places on the Iraqi political system, the true center of gravity in this whole conflict. It is insufficient in the support it provides to our combat forces both in terms of equipment as well as support forces. And it is insufficient in the amount of training time it allows for deploying units. As a result, under the President's plan, U.S. military forces will be less ready to go into during and after this troop increase; and, sadly, they could be stretched to the point of breaking. To the point of breaking. Now, finally, I oppose the White House's plan because it will heighten the already unacceptable level of strategic risk currently facing our Nation, strategic risk that exists because our military is overcommited in Iraq and is ill-equipped and ill-positioned to respond to emerging crises elsewhere in the world. And this worries me, it worries me deeply. I have been privileged to serve here in Congress slightly over 30 years, and over that time 12 significant military contingencies have occurred in which our military have been involved. Each of them occurred in an unexpected place and at an unexpected time. It will happen again. Right now, we are not prepared as we should be for an unforeseen military threat. That worries me. Unfortunately, it is the magnificent, wonderful, courageous men and women of our military who will pay the price for that failure. Madam Speaker, we must send the White House a message that cannot be ignored; and that is why we are here today. I urge that we pass the Skelton-Lantos-Jones resolution. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to my friend, my colleague and chairman of the Appropriations Committee, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey).

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to my friend and colleague, the chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Ortiz). (Mr. ORTIZ asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to my friend the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan), who is also the chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to my colleague, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen) who is also a member of the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the majority leader.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to my colleague, a fellow member of the Armed Services Committee, the gentlelady from California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez).

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire about the time that has been consumed and the time remaining, please?

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to note that this debate is about so many things other than the resolution that is before us. Simple, straightforward, in plain English language, two points. The first is, we in this Congress fully support those wonderful young men and women in uniform. Secondly, we do not agree with the addition of 21,500 troops into Iraq. That is what we ought to be debating. I listened to my good friend from Virginia speak of Normandy, I was there with him. I saw my friend, Dr. Tommy MacDonnell, with a worn Purple Heart and a Cluster and his Silver Star in his uniform that day. Great memories, great American victory. But what in the world is the debate involving other battles, other days, other conditions, when we ought to be talking about this? This is a simple, straightforward debate. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Georgia, a member of the Armed Services Committee (Mr. Marshall).

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to my colleague, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand), a member of the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson), a member of the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia. I yield 5 minutes to my colleague on the Armed Services Committee, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney).

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, a member of the Armed Services Committee (Mr. Sestak).

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to my friend for years and my colleague, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks), who is the vice chairman of the Defense Subcommittee on Appropriations.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield to the gentleman from North Carolina, but first I would like to recognize the gentleman from New York (Mr. McNulty) for purposes of a unanimous-consent request. (Mr. McNULTY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SKELTON. Yes. I have one remaining speaker, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), who is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security on the Appropriations Committee. (Mr. PRICE of North Carolina asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 5\1/2\ minutes. Mr. Speaker, I speak today with a heavy heart. I am deeply saddened as I take the floor this afternoon; saddened because we find ourselves embroiled in a conflict in Iraq, a conflict that is involved with insurgents that we failed to acknowledge or recognize, a conflict that is overlaid by sectarian violence between the Shiite Muslims on the one hand and Sunni Muslims on the other. Mr. Speaker, this is a great American tragedy. The mission of this Congress is to urge the change of course. We are here today because of a series of irretrievable strategic mistakes. Let's understand the goal of this resolution: number one, to fully extend our support to those in the uniform of the United States. I have been on the Armed Services Committee now throughout the years, and more recently as its chairman, and I cannot tell you how proud I am of those who are in uniform, whether they be deployed in the Middle East or somewhere else in the globe or here in our country. We must let them know, and this resolution does let them know, that we fully support them, as well as their wonderful families. The second part of this resolution deals with the Presidential decision to increase our troops by 21,500. However, it is not clear what support troops are needed. The Pentagon says 2,500 support troops. The Congressional Budget Office says 13,000 minimum. But whatever it is, we find ourselves not seeing a change in strategy, as was promised by the administration and the White House, but just another tactic that had been used before, an increase in troops. No more, no less. We are here to say that is not a good idea. The series of irretrievable mistakes is a serious list: the skewed intelligence we received from the Defense Department Office of Special Plans; the postwar phase of conflict that did not have sufficient planning; not enough troops, as pointed out by General Eric Shinseki, the former Army Chief of Staff; allowing the uncontrolled looting and the breakdown of law early on after the occupation began; the dismissal of the Iraqi Army, rather than giving them a paycheck and a shovel or having them do security work that is important to the stability of that country; the deBathification, that put so many thousands of Iraqis out of business, out of work, including thousands of school teachers. The administration has consistently refused to adjust its overall strategy. I take no pleasure in this, but it is a moment of ``I told you so.'' On September 4, 2002, and again on March 18, 2003, I sent letters to the White House predicting some of the deadly outcomes we are experiencing today, and I warned against a jagged ending to the conflict. While there is a peacefully elected Iraqi Government, it is a government so divided along sectarian lines it has not been able to accomplish even the most basic steps needed for national reconciliation. And now we have the President's plan for a troop increase, which is a tactic that we do not approve. The President's plan will embroil our troops even more deeply into the sectarian conflict. Put together hastily, it is insufficient as a requirement for success. Forty percent of all of the Army equipment of our country is either in Afghanistan or Iraq. The readiness of our troops is in peril. We are stretching the Army and the Marine Corps to the breaking point. That is where we are, and basically it is because of the conflict in Iraq. Today is an opportunity for us to express our support for the troops and to say it is not a good idea to increase the troop level in Iraq because it has been tried unsuccessfully before.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee (Mr. Lantos).

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan, a veteran of the Second World War, Mr. Dingell. (Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SKELTON. I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from New York, a Korean War veteran, recipient of the Purple Heart, recipient of the Bronze Star, Mr. Rangel. (Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SKELTON. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I find it rather interesting, Mr. Speaker, that those who oppose this simple, straightforward resolution tend to confuse a permissive war with a necessary war. The goals of the insurgents in Iraq are far different from the terrorists that had their genesis in Afghanistan. Let us not be confused between the two conflicts or their origins or those against whom we fight. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to a veteran of the Korean War, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers). (Mr. CONYERS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, once again my friends on the other side of the aisle are attempting to confuse the conflict in Iraq with the war against terrorists and has their genesis in Afghanistan, trying to put it all in one basket. That is not the case. Anybody can have their own opinion, but, Mr. Speaker, they may not have their own facts. Mr. Speaker, I now yield 5 minutes to my colleague from California (Mr. Thompson), a gentleman who is a Vietnam combat veteran of the 173rd Airborne Brigade.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, during his 20 years of service to this country, the gentleman to whom I am about to yield earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Bronze Stars, the Soldiers Medal and other awards. A Vietnam combat veteran serving two tours as an assault helicopter pilot, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Boswell). (Mr. BOSWELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)