[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Page 27274]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  REPRESENTATIVE JOHN MURTHA'S SPEECH

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about Representative 
John Murtha's statement on Iraq. John Murtha is right. We need an exit 
strategy from Iraq. The administration should have had one before the 
war.
  As I and other Members of Congress consistently requested before 
Operation Iraqi Freedom, OIF, began, it was imperative for the 
administration to have a plan for both entering and, now more 
importantly, for exiting Iraq. We are 2 years into OIF with no clear 
end in sight. There is no excuse for not having one now.
  We must provide the Iraqi people with the tools necessary to stand on 
their own. Only the Iraqi people can rebuild Iraq. Only the Iraqi 
people can defend Iraq. We cannot do it for them. We cannot want it 
more than they want it. What we must do is provide them with the means 
to accomplish this, but what we are unable to do is to give them the 
will.
  Whether we leave Iraq tomorrow, or in 6 months, or longer, the 
President needs to tell the American people when and how we will be 
able to withdraw our troops. We cannot afford to lose more Americans in 
Iraq.
  John Murtha is a great patriotic American. His service in the 
military and in the U.S. Congress cannot be measured. Those who 
disparage him tarnish only themselves.
  Everyone who knows John Murtha knows that he believes in his heart 
and soul in the American military and he will do everything he can to 
help them. He should be listened to for what he has done, for who he 
is, and because he is right.

                          ____________________