Kucinich: Developing Peacemaking Skills [View All]

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http://www.kucinich.us/floor_speeches/iq_peace_skills4may.php

Developing Peacemaking Skills

Dennis Kucinich speaking from the Floor of the House

Link to this entry in the Congressional Record
http://www.kucinich.us/floor_speeches/iq_peace_skills4may.php

May 4, 2005

"Mr. Speaker, has Congress gotten used to the idea of the U.S. being in a war, an occupation in Iraq?

"Congress endorsed the President's actions over and over again, even though those actions were based on misinformation and falsehoods. It has appropriated over $270 billion for the war. It has provided money to build new bases in Iraq. It has not held a single investigative hearing that has made one bit of difference in the administration's conduct of the war.

"But if the war cannot be justified, then neither can the occupation. Some are now content to say well, we are there, we have to stay there.

"Mr. Speaker, it was wrong to go in and it is wrong to stay in. We attacked a nation that did not attack us. We waged war against a people who did not want war with us. We have killed people who have more quarrel with us. We are occupying a nation that does not want us there.

"This Congress has the power to end the war. We should work together to set a day for withdrawal and a cutoff of funds. We acted decisively to get into war, we should act decisively to get out. In doing so, we must begin to develop peacemaking skills superior to our war-making skills, or our world will not survive."