Blue Dog Resolution on Iraq Financial Oversight Transcript: Congressional Record January 22, 2007

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Congressman Ross, thanks very much. I will be very brief.

During the campaign in November, October and September, obviously leading up to the November 7 election, I heard a great deal from those who would be talking about, do you favor cut and run or stay the course?

I submit to you that neither of those are good alternatives. And the sad thing is that the American public have been told that mission has been accomplished after landing on the battleship. And then shortly after that, the Iraqi insurgents were told, just bring it on. I think it is time that we bring on a little bit of accountability. And this accountability and the resolution that the Blue Dog Democrats have introduced doesn't deal with whether or not we stay, how long we stay. It just talks about the stay that we have already been there, account for it.

Account for the almost $400 billion that has been spent of taxpayer dollars that could be used, quite frankly, maybe to have won the war in a better way, to have brought about a safe Iraq that is not there today.

And my real concern, as I go back and study the Tet Offensive, it is my concern that, as we send these 20-some thousand extra troops into Iraq, and as we start talking on the Shiia militias, that we may see the results of another Tet Offensive that we saw in 1968 in Vietnam.

I just hope that our President, that the Defense Department and those who are advocating additional troops not only will be accountable for what we have already done there, but at least present to us a better plan than what we have had presented to us in the past.

Stay the course, mission accomplished and bring it on just ain't got it done, and it is time that we look at what is going on in this country. When you look at Iraq and Iran, and you realize that when you hear that there are a billion folks of the faith of Islam, most of those are either in Asia, Central Asia and in Africa, not in the Middle East. Virtually all in the Middle East perhaps are the Islam faith except, obviously, for the nation of Israel. But when you look where most of the Shiias are, only 10 percent of the faith of Islam are Shiias. The other are Sunnis. And when you look at where the bulk of the Shiia population is, it is in Iraq and in Iran.

It is my fear that stay the course, bring it on and mission accomplished has only brought to us two nations in the Middle East, Iraq and Iran, with probably close to 7 percent of the Shiias that will be in control of two nations in the Middle East that will have under their soils around 50 percent of the oil in the Middle East. It is time, Mr. Speaker, that we take a serious look and do what the old crossing at the railroad used to say: Stop, look and listen to what we are doing.