Question Period, April 2004
April 5, 2004
HOUSE OF COMMONS HANSARD – QUESTION PERIOD
The Speaker: Order. Questions for the Prime Minister: I call the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. John Kerry (Lib): Mr. Speaker, today we received news that both of the main hospitals in the city of Fallujah have been closed due to the heavy fighting between our own military forces and Iraqi insurgents. Would the Prime Minister now agree that, a year after beginning what was supposed to be a war of liberation for an oppressed people, the planning for long-term security in Iraq was not, and is not, adequate?
Prime Minister George W. Bush (Con): Well, Mr. Speaker, if the leader of the opposition is concerned about security in Fallujah, he ought to send a clearer message of support for our troops on the ground fighting there right now. It was necessary to close the hospitals in order to maintain security during these operations, and obviously we hope they can be reopened as soon as possible. But Fallujah will never be secure until these terrorists are defeated.
Mr. Kerry: Mr. Speaker, I have stated time and time again that every man and woman who wears the uniform of our armed forces have my complete and unequivocal support. Can the Prime Minister not acknowledge that questions about the management of this conflict are in no way a criticism of the performance of our troops?
Prime Minister Bush: What I will acknowledge, Mr. Speaker, is that our troops look to this Government and this Parliament to present a united front. What kind of message would I be sending to our soldiers fighting in Fallujah right now if I started dissecting every element of our policy in public? That’s not what a responsible Prime Minister does, and that’s not what a responsible Leader of the Opposition ought to do.
Mr. Kerry: Mr. Speaker, this Government has run the most reckless, arrogant, inept, and ideological foreign policy in the modern history of this country, and now they’re going to come here and lecture the opposition about responsibility? The Government had the warnings from General Shinseki that their plan was inadequate, they ignored them, and now they are seeing the consequences. Why can the Prime Minister not admit that a new strategy is needed?
Prime Minister Bush: Mr. Speaker, no strategy is ever perfect, and of course we work with our generals every day to refine our approach and deal with threats from extremists as they arise. I don’t think it’s reckless to go on the offense against threats to our national security instead of waiting around for them to attack us. I don’t think it’s arrogant to suggest that the people of Iraq deserve their chance at freedom. I don’t think it’s inept to remove a brutal dictator from power who supported terrorism. And I certainly don’t think it’s ideological to make it clear that this Government will always act to defend America and keep our people safe.
Mr. James Traficant (Ind): Put troops on the borders if you want to keep us safe!
The Speaker: Order. The member for San Francisco–
Mr. Traficant: It’s a betrayal of your oath leaving the border unguarded!
Honorable members interjecting –
The Speaker: Order! The member for Youngstown and Canton [Mr. Traficant] will remove himself from the chamber for one hour under the provisions of Article 21B.
Mr. Traficant rose to exit the chamber.
The Speaker: I call the member–
Mr. Traficant: Beam me up!
Honorable members laughing and interjecting –
The Speaker: Order! Order! Now, the member for Youngstown and Canton has been instructed to leave the chamber. I strongly suggest that he do so with haste, and to cease making a spectacle of himself, unless he wants to incur an additional penalty.
Mr. Traficant exited the chamber.
The Speaker: I now call the member for San Francisco North and Central.
Mr. Barney Frank (Lab): The leader of the real opposition!
Honorable members interjecting –
The Speaker: Order. The member for San Francisco North and Central has the call.
Ms. Nancy Pelosi (Lab): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On January 28 of last year, the Prime Minister stated that Saddam Hussein posed an imminent threat to the United States and that to remove him from power would make America safer. Since then, no weapons of mass destruction have been found, and the Home Secretary himself said last week that the threat of terrorism has remained as high as it was before the war. Does the Prime Minister still stand by that statement?
Mr. Richard Cheney (Con): Ask the member for Delaware [Mr. Biden].
Mr. Joseph Biden (Lab): Oh, come on!
Prime Minister Bush: Mr. Speaker, absolutely I stand by that statement. Saddam Hussein’s regime did have a program to develop advanced weaponry, and I don’t think it makes sense to sit back and give the benefit of the doubt to a man who used chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq War, who invaded another sovereign country, and whose security forces committed atrocities against his own people. If 9/11 taught us anything, it’s that we cannot wait around for the enemy to attack us. And you know, my Right Honorable friend the Deputy Prime Minister makes a good point – if liberating Iraq was such a terrible idea, why did the Labour Party’s own Justice spokesman say that we should hold Saddam accountable for his violations of international law?
Ms. Pelosi: Mr. Speaker, the responsibility for the decision to go to war did not, and does not, rest with the member for Delaware. It rests with the Prime Minister. And since he made that decision, we’ve seen relationships with allies growing weaker, we’ve seen resources diverted away from the fight against Al-Qaeda, and most tragically, we continue to see American soldiers and Iraqi civilians losing their lives almost every single day in a conflict that shows no signs of abating. Why can’t the Prime Minister just say three simple words: “I was wrong”?
Prime Minister Bush: Well, Mr. Speaker, I don’t think I ever said that the war in Iraq was going to be easy.
Mr. Alcee Hastings (Lab): Your defense secretary did!
Prime Minister Bush: The fact is, the campaign to –
Mr. Hastings: What about the defense secretary? He said it!
The Speaker: Order. The member for Broward Central will cease interjecting. The Prime Minister has the call.
Prime Minister Bush: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I think the member for Broward Central is really distorting the Defense Secretary’s words there. The fact is, the campaign to remove Saddam Hussein did conclude quickly. Obviously, the fight to contain and defeat the extremists is going to take time, and my heart goes out to each and every one of the soldiers and civilians who have been wounded and killed in this conflict. But you don’t defeat terrorists by letting them gain new footholds in Iraq. And I’ll say this much: I’d much rather be fighting terrorists in Iraq than fighting them here in America.
[end excerpt]