[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 155 (Tuesday, December 6, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H11041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1415
                   PRESIDENT SETS TONE ON WAR IN IRAQ

  (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, some say the U.S. will not win in Iraq, but 
in the American political debate, we can do better than that.
  Last week at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, the President of the 
United States did just that. President Bush delivered a forceful and 
effective defense of our strategy and the stakes facing our Nation in 
Iraq.
  Along with thousands of other midshipmen, I had the privilege of 
joining the President that day, and I have to tell you, from inside the 
arena, it appeared that the President was both at ease and determined. 
He pounded the facts about enemy, their aims and our progress in Iraq 
into the American debate.
  From the outset, the President set the tone defining the first war of 
the 21st Century with the declaration that the enemy must be defeated. 
He cited their war against humanity, while he released a recently 
declassified national strategy for victory, which Americans can read at 
WhiteHouse.gov.
  For me, the central message came when the President said, ``We will 
stay as long as necessary to complete the mission.'' This clarion call 
and the continued determination of the American people was timely and 
meaningful, and an important challenge to a Nation that believes in 
freedom and has always demonstrated throughout our history that when 
the mission is just and the mission is clear, Americans complete the 
mission.

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