[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 70 (Tuesday, May 1, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H4218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1245
IRAQ SUPPLEMENTAL
(Mr. SHUSTER asked and was given permission to address the House for
1 minute.)
Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, our enemies are listening, and they are
planning on our actions today, just like the North Vietnamese did
decades ago. And don't believe me, but listen to the words of Colonel
Bui Tin, who served on the general's staff of the North Vietnamese Army
and received the unconditional surrender of South Vietnam on April 30,
1975.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal in 1995, he drew some
important parallels to the debate today. When asked how the North
Vietnamese intended to defeat America, Colonel Tin responded, ``by
fighting a long war which would break their will to help South
Vietnam.'' He went on to quote Ho Chi Minh, who said, ``We don't need
to win military victories, we only need to hit them until they give up
and get out.'' Colonel Tin said the American antiwar movement was
essential to their strategy. He said it represented the conscience of
America and the conscience of America was part of its war-making
capability, and we were turning that power in our favor.
Through protests, America lost its ability to mobilize a will to win.
That is what this supplemental does here today. Let's listen to the
past and not repeat its mistakes. Let's pass a clean bill and give our
soldiers what they need to win.
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