International Partnership for Reconciliation in Iraq Act of 2008

Mr. Speaker, ever since 9/11, the current administration has relied on military force alone to fight terrorism. This policy has been a disaster. There have been over 34,000 Americans killed or hurt in Iraq, but we aren't any safer. And now our troops in Afghanistan are facing a growing insurgency.

The lesson we must learn from all this is that we cannot bomb and torture our way to friendship and cooperation around the world. We must eliminate the root causes of terrorism, which are poverty and despair. And to do that, we must focus on helping Nations like Iraq and Afghanistan to make social, economic, and political progress.

Former Congressman Charlie Wilson is an actual expert on this subject. Congressman Wilson represented the Second District of Texas from 1973 to 1997. He was the subject of the popular recent movie, ``Charlie Wilson's War.'' The movie shows how Wilson helped the Afghans to beat back the Soviet invasion in their country in the 1980s.

Charlie Wilson understands that military force alone is not the answer to the world's problems. He believes that diplomacy and development assistance are actually the best answers.

Charlie described his position in an op-ed he wrote for The Washington Post last month. The op-ed is entitled, ``Charlie Wilson's Peace,'' and I hope that every Member of the House will read it.

Wilson writes that after the defeat of the Soviets, his request for funds to rebuild Afghanistan was turned down. The result was a disaster for America.

Wilson writes, ``Instead of intensifying our diplomatic and humanitarian efforts, we simply walked away, leaving a destroyed country that lacked roads, schools, and any plan or hope for rebuilding.

``Into this void marched the Taliban and al Qaeda. Had we remained engaged in Afghanistan, investing in education, health, and economic development, the world would be a very different place today.''

I want to repeat, Mr. Speaker, Wilson's point because it is an important one. He says that al Qaeda became more powerful because the Afghan people did not receive the right kind of assistance from the United States. Yes, we gave them weapons, but we left them in rubble, and that's where terrorism grows.

Wilson goes on to say that ``we cannot afford to aspire to anything less than defeating poverty, disease, and ignorance wherever they exist. It is a relatively small but incredibly effective investment that helps ensure our future national security and economic prosperity.''

Charlie Wilson's experience in Afghanistan, Mr. Speaker, was over 20 years ago, but it is a real lesson for us today. It tells us that we won't defeat al Qaeda just by increasing the number of our troops in Afghanistan. We must focus our efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq on reconstruction.

That means redeploying our troops out of Iraq on a firm timetable, and then working with regional and international partners to rebuild that devastated land. Electricity and water must be restored to every home. Jobs must be created. The shattered educational and health care systems must be rebuilt. The Iraqi Government must stop dragging its feet and spend the money it has budgeted for essential services.

And this House ought to take every chance to promote reconciliation in Iraq. Representative Shays and I have introduced legislation, H.R. 5925, to support the United States Institute for Peace, which has been carrying out important reconciliation projects in Iraq since 2004. The institute has worked to prevent violence and promote the rule of law, and it deserves our help.

Mr. Speaker, the current administration has only 4 months to go. I hope that the next administration will learn from this administration's mistakes. Starting next January 20, America must begin to export compassion and hope instead of war and occupation.

Madam Speaker, there is an old saying: Everybody complains about the weather, but no one ever does anything about it. That is pretty much what we are doing in Iraq.

In testimony before Congress and from press conference to press conference, administration officials have said that the most important item on our agenda for Iraq, right after security, is reconciliation. In fact, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said before the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Armed Services Committee that reconciliation is perhaps the most critical challenge that Iraq faces right now. Even the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel of recognized leaders in foreign policy and governing, wrote that: National reconciliation is essential to reduce further violence and maintain the unity of Iraq. And its report recommended that diplomats work to energize countries to support national political reconciliation in Iraq.

But this is not just the goal of the United States, Madam Speaker. The Iraqis themselves are calling for reconciliation. Before a meeting of the United Nations, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said, and I quote him, he said, ``Reconciliation lays the foundation for political, social, economic progress, and the security that we strive for.''

This is not a Democratic or a Republican issue, Madam Speaker. It isn't a Sunni or a Shia or Kurd issue. It isn't an American or Iraqi issue. Reconciliation is an issue that has something to do with all of us. It is the pathway for stability and peace in Iraq, and it is the pathway throughout the region.

One news agency has dedicated itself to providing real resources, training, and assistance for reconciliation in Iraq. Since the year 2004, the United States Institute of Peace, the USIP, has been working in Iraq at the national and local level building peace

community by community and neighborhood by neighborhood. USIP has focused on preventing sectarian violence at the local level, developing leaders in schools, universities, government, and civil society, promoting the rule of law, engaging women in public life, and increasing regional stability. All this with a tiny staff, only three USIP staff members and eight Iraqi staffers.

Despite the scarcity of resources, 120 Iraqis have been trained to be reconciliation facilitators. They will go into communities to help to work towards real solutions, making neighborhoods safer, promoting transparency and accountability, and so much more. The work they do is amazing and it is awe inspiring.

Sadly, the resources available are meager in comparison to what we are spending to wage war. That is why it is time to bring our troops and private contractors home, to give Iraq back to the Iraqi people. And that is why I, along with my colleague from Connecticut, Christopher Shays, introduced H.R. 5925, International Partnership for Reconciliation in Iraq Act of 2008. This legislation will ensure that USIP will have the funding and support it needs to continue and to expand.

I urge all of my colleagues to do something: Cosponsor the bill, H.R. 5925, so that we can work with the Iraqi people, so we can work within the international community, and we can reconcile that area. I urge you to cosponsor H.R. 5925. Enough talking about the problem. It is time to do something.