Thank you Mr. Speaker.
I was going to save this for veto day, to be closer to the anniversary, but world events this past week motivated me to rise today.
On October 19, 2005, 6.5miles from the Syrian border along the Euphrates, 3rd Bn 6th Marines, Kilo Company, 1st Platoon, 3rd Squad was on a foot patrol along ASR Diamond in the Al’Qaim Region of the Al’Anbar province in Iraq. Random patrols through the community were meant to keep insurgents at bay, discourage the planting of IEDs and weapons caches, and build rapport with the community so they’d be more inclined to report suspicious activities in the area. On that day, there were warning signs, the children were acting strange, they didn’t follow the patrol asking for MREs or money like most days, the shops were closed. The patrol still went on, and heads were on a swivel. But readiness and vigilance can only do so much. Blind alleys between cinderblock walls are commonplace in Iraq.
I know this, because I was on that patrol. I saw the car leap out from the alley feet from Anderson. I heard the order from Thornton to “shoot that M-Fer”. I saw Anderson fire a precision shot through the windshield into the driver’s head. I witnessed the vehicle vaporize from within into a violent explosion. I don’t remember the sound, though. I remember picking myself up from the dirt after being knocked on my ass, miraculously uninjured. I remember running up the column to a roadside ditch to roll Sanford face-up. I remember he came to, thankfully alive. I remember repeatedly watching nearby rooftops for secondary attackers as was common throughout the war. I remember seeing Thornton realize he had a hole in his leg and he sat back down to tourniquet his own wound, still giving us orders to set up a perimeter. I remember Melo screaming, he was 2nd man in the column, and caught a bunch of shrapnel in his gut. And, hauntingly, I remember Hubbard exclaiming from up the road “Wally’s f-ing wasted, man!” Hubbard also had a wounded leg his adrenaline didn’t allow him to feel. Wally was the nickname of Lance Corporal Norman Anderson III, our point man, killed in action.
Later, it was determined by the EOD team in the Battalion QRF that the SVBIED’s hood release was wired as a deadman switch. Wally’s lightning fast acquisition of the target, and single shot saved the lives of every other member of the squad, myself included. Some of us have scars, both physical and psychological, but we are alive today because of the bravery and skill of that one man.
I’ve dedicated that life to speaking out against warmongering, advocating for tempered approaches, and skepticism towards the claims made by our intelligence agencies and the Pentagon. I ask you to join me in skepticism towards reports of “weapons of mass destruction,” claims that “we will be welcomed as liberators,” “mission accomplished,” assertions that there were long-term plans for Afghanistan and Iraq, or the blatant lies like “we will not put boots on the ground in Syria.” I push for skepticism against the intelligence community because their mistakes (giving extreme benefit of the doubt that they were JUST mistakes), cost the lives of the men and women whose patriotism drove them to join our all-volunteer military. We should not recklessly take advantage of that patriotism, we should not send them into harm’s way unless absolutely necessary to protect the lives of American citizens here at home.
I did not enlist after 9/11 to enact regime change in Iraq and I’d venture a guess it’d be rare to find soldiers, sailors, airmen, or marines that told their recruiters their explicit reason for signing up in the last few years was to march on Tehran. So when people chest-thump on Facebook and Twitter, and have whataboutism arguments about previous presidents’ actions over the last several decades of CONSTANT war through ALL of the administrations, remember the 2002 AUMF for Iraq passed bipartisanly 296 to 133 due to political pressure from the people. Remember how certain the intelligence community was about the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction. Remember the lies about Saddam being in league with bin Laden. Remember how most of the pundits and talking heads that pushed for the Iraq war, cheered it on, have since recanted. Remember that we never even passed an AUMF for Syria despite putting boots on the ground, and Al’Qaida is currently killing Alawites and Christians each day since we assisted them in taking the country from the Assad regime. Remember Iran is bigger than Iraq and Afghanistan combined in both land area and population, with the worst features of both.
I ask that you remember this unanimous consent when I rise before you all again in January. I ask that you remember the sacrifices of the men and women that continue to volunteer to wear the uniform. I ask you to pray, and speak loudly for peace, and to bring our troops home from places they shouldn’t be, and out of harm’s way. And finally, I ask you to remember Lance Corporal Norman “Wally” Anderson III, the man that saved the lives of his squadmates 20 years ago. Thank you.
Tom Mannion for New Hampshire 