[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12704]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     PLAN FOR WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ

  (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, on Sunday, Iraq's prime minister 
unveiled a 24-point plan that included a timetable for U.S. withdrawal.
  Last week, the U.S. military's top commander in Iraq briefed the 
President and top Republicans about a plan to significantly reduce the 
number of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
  For months, Democrats have been calling for a new direction, 
including a timetable to redeploy U.S. soldiers out of harm's way; and 
the American people have been saying it is time for a new direction 
that protects U.S. interests by protecting U.S. soldiers.
  The Iraqi people, the American people and the U.S. commanders all say 
the same thing: It is time for a timetable. And the President still 
says the same thing: Stay the course.
  Madam Speaker, the Democrats were wrong. The President's favorite 
phrase, stay the course, is not a slogan. It is a direct order for 
Republican Members of the Congress to deny their better judgment and 
disregard the concern of their American constituents and the top five 
military commanders.
  The President must have some kind of October surprise in mind. The 
President is off course, and until there is a mid-term course 
correction, America will remain misled and misguided in Iraq, and U.S. 
soldiers will bear the brunt of the President's stubbornness.

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