[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 16054-16055]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        LISTENING TO THE TROOPS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, today marks over 1,500 days of the 
occupation of Iraq. Since that time, over 3,500 brave men and women 
have given their lives and at least 2,600 have been injured. We have 
spent nearly half a trillion dollars, but this occupation is about more 
than just numbers. It is about the lives, both American and Iraqi, that 
will be changed forever.
  So many brave men and women heeded the call of the Commander in Chief 
to rid Iraq of Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction. One 
could say many of these troops were misled with false or at the very 
least faulty intelligence. They deserve so much more for their 
sacrifice and their service.
  Last month, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, a newspaper in my district, 
carried a story titled, ``GIs Voice Disillusionment With the War.'' It 
outlined the frustrations of our troops, some on their first tour, 
others who have served again and again.
  One account exemplifies the frustration, and I will read it. ``In 
2003, 2004, 100 percent of the soldiers wanted to be here to fight this 
war,'' said Sergeant First Class David Moore, a self-described 
``conservative Texas Republican'' and platoon sergeant who

[[Page 16055]]

strongly advises an American withdrawal.
  ``Now,'' he says, ``95 percent of my platoon agrees with me.''
  Mr. Speaker, that is directly from the front. This is not something 
that has been run through the administration's spin machine. This is 
the unvarnished truth from the troops in the trenches.
  One more account comes from Staff Sergeant David Safstrom. According 
the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Staff Sergeant Safstrom does not regret 
his previous tours in Iraq, not even a difficult second stint when two 
comrades were killed while trying to capture insurgents. He said, ``In 
Mosul, in 2003, it felt like we were making the city a better place. 
There was no sectarian violence. Saddam was gone. We were tracking down 
the bad guys. It felt awesome.''
  But now, Mr. Speaker, on this third deployment in Iraq, he is no 
longer a believer in the mission. The pivotal moment came, he says, 
this February when soldiers killed a man setting a roadside bomb. When 
they searched the bomber's body, they found identification showing him 
to be a sergeant in the Iraqi Army.
  ``I thought,'' he said, ``'What are we doing here? Why are we still 
here?''', said Safstrom, a member of Delta Company of the 1st 
battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division. He had 
changed his mind.
  Mr. Speaker, let me be clear, I and every one of my colleagues 
support the troops. We honor their bravery and we commit to ensuring 
that they receive all of the promised benefits as a result of their 
service to our Nation.
  I believe that the best way we can stand up for our troops is to 
bring them home. It is past time for a fully funded and safe 
redeployment. We will not back out of our commitment to the Iraqi 
people. We will work with them to increase their security forces and to 
help in reconstruction.
  But we must face the facts. The situation on the ground may be worse 
than it ever has been before. Military leaders are conceding that the 
so-called surge is not working, and it may never.
  The administration has even said that we needed to look at the 
situation in Iraq like that of Korea, and we have been there half a 
century. That is simply not an option.
  Let's do the right thing. Let's do the sensible thing. Let's bring 
our troops home. We owe it to them and we owe it to our Nation.

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