[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 19 (Wednesday, January 31, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H1116-H1117]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         NO PLAN FROM DEMOCRATS

  (Ms. FOXX asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle for their plan for winning the war on terror and for 
the current situation in Iraq. The only things that we have heard from 
Democrats has been criticism.
  I also want to point out an article in today's Wall Street Journal 
and insert the entire article in the Record. The article is entitled, 
``Progress in Baghdad''; and it says, Capitol Hill has probably been 
too busy running for political cover to notice, but the last few days 
in Iraq have actually featured good news, as the government seems to be 
making some progress on key political and security issues.
  And it ends with, the Bush administration has itself made many 
mistakes trying to micromanage Iraq's political development, but it now 
seems to understand that it is fated to deal with the Shiite-led 
government it has. Congressmen who are sincere in wanting to take the 
Iraq issue off the table in 2008 could help by showing a similar 
combination of resolve and humility.
  I think we need the resolve and humility to say that we are there for 
victory and that failure is not an option.

                     [From the Wall Street Journal]

                          Progress in Baghdad

       Capitol Hill has probably been too busy running for 
     political cover to notice. But the last few days in Iraq have 
     actually featured good news, as the government seems to be 
     making some progress on key political and security issues.
       One step forward is that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has 
     won parliamentary backing for his Baghdad security plan. This 
     means the elected representatives of Iraq's Shiites, Sunnis 
     and Kurds remain capable of compromise and are willing to 
     give the new strategy a chance to work.
       There's also evidence that the Baghdad plan is having an 
     effect. Yes, al Qaeda bombs targeted the Shiite Ashoura 
     holiday as expected. But there are also widespread reports of 
     Sunni jihadists fleeing the capital in anticipation of a 
     crackdown. Prime Minister Maliki has already started moving 
     against Shiite militias, which might explain an apparent drop 
     in sectarian violence. No one should get overconfident, but 
     clearly the bad guys are taking the joint U.S.-Iraqi effort 
     to pacify the capital seriously. Meanwhile, the weekend saw 
     an encouraging performance by the Iraqi security forces who 
     took control of the Najaf area only about a month ago. Acting 
     on their own intelligence, Iraqi police

[[Page H1117]]

     and a battalion from the Eighth Army Division confronted a 
     radical Shiite sect calling themselves the Soldiers of Heaven 
     who had reportedly planned to assassinate mainstream Shiite 
     clerics, including the moderate Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani.
       Some observers are trying to spin this battle as a defeat 
     for the government, because the first Iraqi units on the 
     scene had to call for reinforcements and for American air 
     power. But the fact that Iraqi forces were able to pre-empt 
     the attack on Najaf before it began, and that everyone 
     involved was able to coordinate the operation and soundly 
     defeat the enemy makes it sound like a success to us. 
     Hundreds of the insurgents were killed, compared to a handful 
     of Iraqi and U.S. troops. This may well be a model for how 
     U.S. troops might play a supporting role down the road--
     assuming Washington gives them a chance to get Baghdad under 
     control first.
       For the moment at least, Iraq seems to be inching in the 
     right direction. After a week of Western lamentations about 
     the gracelessness of the Saddam hanging, it became clear that 
     the primary effect of the execution was to enhance Prime 
     Minister Maliki's stature in Iraq. Mr. Maliki, in turn, is 
     using that political capital. The last thing he needs is to 
     have his efforts undermined by votes of no-confidence in 
     Washington--or meddling by Congressmen with ``benchmarks'' 
     who pretend to know better than he does how to deal with the 
     most difficult issues, such as how best to marginalize 
     Moqtada al-Sadr.
       The Bush Administration has itself made many mistakes 
     trying to micromanage Iraq's political development, but it 
     now seems to understand that it is fated to deal with the 
     Shiite-led government it has. Congressmen who are sincere in 
     wanting to take the Iraq issue off the table in 2008 could 
     help by showing a similar combination of resolve and 
     humility.
       Let's unite.

                          ____________________