[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 846-847]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                  IRAQ

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, the distinguished Republican leader, with me 
and a few others, met with the President yesterday. I told the 
President how much I thought of him, personally. I told him, even 
though my fondness for him is significant, I disagree with a number of 
his policies, not the least of which is what is going on in Iraq.
  He announced his new plan last night, and it was basically what he 
told us there at the White House yesterday. The President admitted he 
had made some mistakes, and I think that is commendable, the right 
thing to do, because there have been mistakes made in the waging of 
that war. But by calling for escalation of this conflict, I think he is 
on the verge of making another mistake.

[[Page 847]]

  As I made clear in a letter to the President last Friday, along with 
Speaker of the House Pelosi, I oppose his new plan because it sends the 
wrong signal to the Iraqis, to the Americans, and to the rest of the 
world. President Bush is Commander in Chief, and his proposal deserves 
serious consideration by this body, and we will give it serious 
consideration.
  In the days ahead, we will give his proposal and the overall 
situation in Iraq a thorough review. I received a call late last night 
from one Democratic Senator who has a proposal, early this morning from 
another Senator, a Democratic Senator, who has some ideas. We heard, 
yesterday, from Senator Coleman. He opposes the surge. Senator 
Brownback is in Iraq and issued a press release saying he opposed the 
surge.
  But we are going to have hearings. Those hearings are starting today 
on the war that is raging in Iraq. Tomorrow, there will be further 
hearings by the Armed Services Committee. In those hearings, experts 
will be asked about his proposal. And when the process is complete, we 
will have a vote in the Senate. As to when that will be, under Senate 
schedules, sometimes it is difficult to determine, but we will have 
one. I will not prejudice the outcome of the vote on the President's 
plan, but I will say this: Putting more U.S. combat forces in the 
middle of an Iraqi civil war is a mistake.
  In November, voters all across the country spoke loudly for change in 
Iraq. That was the issue. In overwhelming numbers, they delivered a 
vote of no confidence on the President's opened-ended commitment and 
demanded we begin to bring this war to a close.
  Last December, the Baker-Hamilton Commission--a respected panel of 
foreign policy experts who studied the law, patriots all--echoed the 
voters' call for change. The Commission, which included both Democrats 
and Republicans, determined the time has come to transition our forces 
out of Iraq, while launching a diplomatic and regional strategy to try 
to hold together this destabilized region.
  But last night, the President--in choosing escalation--ignored the 
will of the people, the advice of the Baker-Hamilton Commission, and a 
significant number of top generals, two of whom were commanders in the 
field.
  In choosing to escalate the war, the President virtually stands 
alone.
  Mr. President, we have lost more than a score of soldiers from 
Nevada. The same applies to every State in the Union. From the State of 
Pennsylvania--I was speaking to the junior Senator from Pennsylvania--
they lost more than 140. So many have sacrificed so much. They have 
done their job, these brave men and women. It is time for a policy, I 
believe, that honors their service by putting the future of Iraq in the 
hands of the Iraqis.

                          ____________________