(Washington, DC) -{The House of Representatives today approved legislation brought to the House Floor by U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Queens/L.I.) that bans permanent U.S. bases in Iraq and prohibits U.S. control over Iraqi oil. The measure was approved 399-24.

The bill specifically bars spending government funds to establish any military installation or base for the purpose of providing the permanent stationing of United States Armed Forces in Iraq. It also forbids U.S. economic control over all of the oil resources in Iraq.

The legislation is designed to combat the perception among Iraqis that the United States intends to permanently occupy their country, a perception that aids extremists and insurgent groups in recruiting supporters and fueling violence. 

The passage of the bill also signals that the U.S. fully supports the efforts of the Iraqi people to exercise full national sovereignty, particularly in the wake of recent statements by the Bush Administration suggesting a long-term presence in Iraq. 

The following are the remarks that Ackerman, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, delivered on the House Floor during debate of the legislation:

“Mr. Speaker, there have been many justifications for why we went to war in Iraq. Take your pick:  we invaded to capture Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction; or we invaded to depose a dictator and bring democracy and human rights to the Iraqi people; or we invaded to fight al Qaeda and prevent them from attacking us here. So many reasons have been offered that you can mix and match, one from column A and two from column B. But whatever your favorite reason for invading Iraq the one reason that was never offered was that we were invading Iraq to occupy their land, establish permanent bases and control their oil.

Yet among Iraqis the perception is that the establishment of permanent bases is precisely why we invaded. And the insurgents use that perception to recruit fighters and incite attacks on our troops. The bill before us today, introduced by our colleagues Barbara Lee and Tom Allen, will help combat that perception. It states that it is the policy of the United States not to establish permanent bases in Iraq and not to control Iraq’s oil resources.

Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time the House has spoken on this issue. Six separate times the House has passed legislation prohibiting or expressing opposition to the establishment of permanent military bases in Iraq. Three of those bills have been signed into law. Yet from the President we continue to get mixed messages. In May, the President’s spokesman talked about a U.S. presence in Iraq that looked like our presence in South Korea and last month Secretary Gates suggested that the President was considering a long and enduring presence in Iraq.  Whatever your position on the war, I don’t think anyone in this House believes that we should be in Iraq for the next 50 years.

And in case anyone needed any further convincing that pursuing a long term presence in Iraq is unwise, the Iraq Study Group was unequivocal on the point of permanent bases: ‘The President should state that the United States does not seek permanent military bases in Iraq.’  But instead of standing down when the Iraqis stand up, the President seems intent on putting down roots. It’s the wrong policy yet again.

The Lee-Allen bill will send an important message, again, that the United States has no interest in permanent bases and I urge my colleagues to support it.”
 

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