House Proceeding on Feb 14th, 2007 :: 5:30:08 to 5:39:12
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5:29:51 to 5:30:08( Edit History Discussion )

no banking system, zero economic stability. iraq is not secure, baghdad is not secure. the iraq study group reported that the president's strategy in iraq is failing. it's failing. and how

5:30:08 to 5:30:24( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: does our president respond? with more of the same. he wants to send 21,500 more of our men and women into iraq to carry out the same failure. the president has failed to articulate what

5:30:08 to 5:39:12( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Terry Everett

5:30:24 to 5:30:36( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: these new troops will do. that is different from what has been done over the past few years. what is his plan? four surges? four surges that didn't work. he wants to do it again? and believe me,

5:30:36 to 5:30:47( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: sitting on the armed services committee i have been here to see it. i was the one in the first few months who told general franks, this is an insurgency. it is guerrilla warfare. he refused to call

5:30:47 to 5:31:00( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: it that. i was the one that went to iraq when general odiare told me there are only 359 insurgents left that we were almost there. well, the day before his boss, abizaid, he said he thought there

5:31:00 to 5:31:17( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: were about 5,000. that was two years ago. i was there when secretary rumsfeld was saying, oh, we have trained 89,000, two days later, 95,000, a week later, 160,000 iraqi army. this was two years ago.

5:31:17 to 5:31:34( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: just pulling numbers out of the air. that's what they were doing to america. and i was there in iraq the day that general petraeus, who was successful in mosul, and then mosul fell because he pulled

5:31:34 to 5:31:47( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: his troops from there to fallujah to try to take fallujah, he said to me, with tears in his eyes, we couldn't hold mosul because we had to take the troops to go into fallujah. at that point

5:31:47 to 5:31:58( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: he said, we didn't have enough troops. but the president didn't listen. the president fails to grasp that military action alone is not sufficient to stabilize iraq. and without a legitimate

5:31:58 to 5:32:12( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: diplomatic component, there will be no end to the civil war in iraq. but the president has refused to engage the powers in the region. he has outright rejected the notion of dialogue with iran

5:32:12 to 5:32:28( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: and syria, a key suggestion from the iraq study group. it is not the role of congress, it is not the role of congress to command our forces. that is the constitutional responsibility given to

5:32:28 to 5:32:39( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: the commander in chief. but he has to do it right. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. ms. sanchez: and we have to hold him accountable for our failures in iraq. mr. chairman,

5:32:39 to 5:32:55( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. who seeks recognition? the gentleman from california. mr. hunter: thank you, mr. speaker. i just want to speak for a

5:32:55 to 5:33:06( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: couple minutes and i i yield myself such time as i may consume. -- and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. the gentleman will suspend

5:33:06 to 5:33:18( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: momentarily. the chair will remind all persons in the gallery that they are here as guests of the house and that any manifestation of approval or disapproval of proceedings or other audible

5:33:18 to 5:33:33( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: conversation is in violation of the rules of the house. the gentleman from california may proceed. mr. hunter: mr. speaker, thank you. i wanted to take this couple minutes to expand on my conversation

5:33:33 to 5:33:49( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: with the majority leader. mr. speaker, it's been said a number of times if we went over the berm and went into iraq without body armor. in fact no american troops until just a couple years ago

5:33:49 to 5:34:03( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: from the time that we were first a nation and deployed military forces on our homeland or around the world, for the first -- in all those years, in that entire history of the united states,

5:34:03 to 5:34:14( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: we never had body armor. i never had body armor in vietnam. nobody ever saw it. we had no body armor in korea. no body armor in world war ii. except perhaps in very, very specialized operations, or

5:34:14 to 5:34:23( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: perhaps specialized custom made body armor, that is bulletproof armor would be manufactured for some special forces teams or special operations. now, i have in front of me a comparison.

5:34:23 to 5:34:37( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: this comparison is between a soldier in 1999 at the end of the last administration, and the equipment that he has, and a soldier today. now, as you can see this is a soldier in 1999, as a number

5:34:37 to 5:34:51( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: of accessories. he does in fact -- he's got an m-16. he's got a flak jacket. he's got gloves. he's got load carrying equipment. he's got protective goggles. he does have a night vision device.

5:34:51 to 5:35:03( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: he's also got helmet and accessories that can be utilized when he's in combat. the soldier today as a lot more. that soldier has, for example, instead of a m-16, he's got an m-4 carbine, he

5:35:03 to 5:35:23( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: has now body armor, including an outer tactical vest, body armor. he's got enhanced small arms protective inserts. those are called sapi plates. he's got protect, insigh plates, knee pads. he has

5:35:23 to 5:35:38( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: more sophisticated aiming equipment and night vision equipment than his counterpart of just a couple years ago. so my point is that whenever new systems are introduced into the force and

5:35:38 to 5:35:50( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: the first thousand or so systems or several thousand systems and a battalion or brigade have the equipment you can by definition say everybody else who doesn't have them is differentiate in

5:35:50 to 5:36:05( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: equipment. in fact, they are not defish egypt in equipment. -- deficient in equipment. this was made by the 101st airborne, one of the battalions that was reated c-1 readiness, ready to go,

5:36:05 to 5:36:16( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: ready to fight in 1999, if you took all of the new equipment that troops have today and put that new equipment on as a requirement for that same battle ready battalion in 1999 they would be rendered

5:36:16 to 5:36:25( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: c-4 or unready for battle by definition because they don't have the new equipment. so i think one thing we need to do is as we lean on the army the marine corps and the other services to

5:36:25 to 5:36:36( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: move equipment into the field quickly, let's not penalize them. when they move the first several thousand sets into the field let's not say congratulations you have just representedered on

5:36:36 to 5:36:53( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: paper the rece of your units unready because they don't have the new stuff. that will have a chilling effect on already a cummer be some process and -- cummer besome process and steep bureaucracy.

5:36:53 to 5:37:10( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: i wanted to make that point. what i would like to do at this point is yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from virginia mr. forbes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is

5:37:10 to 5:37:20( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: recognized. mr. forbes: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise this afternoon among a sea of voices that i quickly confess i do not understand. now, some of them are my friends and some of them are very good

5:37:20 to 5:37:29( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: people and i don't want to make any mistake about it. i understand the pressures they are under. i understand what it is like when you have major news media outlets who will not even take individuals

5:37:29 to 5:37:41( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: who attack innocent civilians in the united states and destroy our property and won't call them terrorists. i understand the pressure when they control much of the media we get across the

5:37:41 to 5:37:52( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: country. i also understand what it is like, mr. speaker, when we have websites that are filled with hate that spew poison out throughout all of our congressional districts and i understand

5:37:52 to 5:38:08( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: the pressure that we get when we have people who don't want to listen but simply want to scream, who stand outside and protest at our offices. i understand those pressures. what i don't understand

5:38:08 to 5:38:21( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: is the response that i'm seeing sheer today on this floor. just a few years ago i had the privilege of traveling with then speaker denny hastert to the 60th anniversary of one of the regrettest

5:38:21 to 5:38:34( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: military achievements the united states -- one of the greatest military achievements the united states has ever seen, that is the invasion of normandy. it was the battle that literally

5:38:34 to 5:38:55( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: saved the world. it was a particular importance to me because my dad had died just a few months before and he was there during world war ii. mr. speaker, i sat that day in the sun among a sea

5:38:55 to 5:39:12( Edit History Discussion )

Terry Everett: of heros who didn't come up to the microphone and pound the desk and they didn't speak in shrill voices. they sat with quiet silence because they had done the hard work and they had literally saved

5:39:12 to 5:39:28( Edit History Discussion )

Hank Johnson: the world. and after that ceremony, i had the honor of just walking with them in the same presence with them as we walk down on the beach at omaha beach and stood there literally speechless

5:39:12 to 5:43:07( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Hank Johnson