[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 133 (Monday, September 10, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H10325-H10326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       LISTEN TO GENERAL PETRAEUS

  (Mrs. BLACKBURN asked and was given permission to address the House

[[Page H10326]]

for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, this afternoon we will hear from General 
David Petraeus on the Iraq progress report. He is going to tell us what 
worked, what hasn't, and what needs to be done. And Congress should 
listen to the general and to Ambassador Crocker.
  My position is that we should have been listening all along to our 
commanders and leaders on the ground, and the testimony from General 
Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker should be heard without prejudice. They 
are men of impeccable credentials, and it is troubling that the antiwar 
liberals are already moving en masse to discredit and dismiss the 
testimony without even hearing a single word of what they have had to 
say.
  The debate over the surge should be over. While much remains to be 
done in Iraq, there is evidence that the surge is working and 
stabilizing that country and improving the security situation.
  Finally, the consequences of failure in Iraq are monumental. A 
failure in Iraq will embolden al Qaeda. They will use the nation as a 
launching pad for attacks. Iran will move in and fill that void. It is 
a monumental day in the war on terror. We should approach it with an 
open mind.

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