[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 22818]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    TIME FOR A NEW DIRECTION IN IRAQ

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, for months now, President Bush has refused 
to listen to anyone outside of his war cabinet and for any counsel on 
the war in Iraq. Yesterday, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group came to the 
sobering conclusion that the situation in Iraq is grave and 
deteriorating.
  We lost 10 soldiers in Iraq yesterday. We have lost more than 30 
soldiers already this month. I had hoped that the President would begin 
to reconsider his course after the November election, but the President 
continues to say that American troops will remain in Iraq after he 
leaves office in 2 years. This is simply unacceptable. We must begin 
the process of redeploying our troops out of Iraq now.
  The Iraqi Prime Minister was correct when he said that the war can 
only be won politically, and, therefore, it is time for us to bring our 
troops home. It is time for the politicians in Iraq to begin to work 
together to bring an end to the civil war and for the international 
community, particularly Iraq's neighbors, to work with Iraqi leaders to 
stabilize the Nation. Our troops have done everything they can, and it 
is now up to the Iraqis to take complete control of their country.

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