[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18040]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                AMERICA CANNOT AFFORD TO STAY THE COURSE

  (Mr. WU asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, it is indeed time for a change in Iraq. Our 
troops are currently caught in a deadly civil war between the Sunnis 
and Shiias, a war that is resulting in the death of American soldiers 
every night, and hundreds of Iraqi civilians every day. If there was 
ever a time to change tactics, now is that time.
  House Republicans and President Bush cling stubbornly to the mantra 
``stay the course,'' but slogans cannot substitute for strategy.
  President Bush says American troops will still be on the ground in 
Iraq when he leaves office in 2009, and that would make the Iraq war 
longer than World War II. We cannot continue to be bogged down in 
Iraq's civil war. Conditions there are not getting better. According to 
the latest Pentagon report, things are actually getting worse and the 
war in Iraq has put an enormous strain on our military, resulting in 
military readiness levels at historic lows.
  It is time we get back to fighting the real war on terror and not a 
civil war in Iraq.

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