[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16474-16475]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                A CHANGE IN DIRECTION IS NEEDED IN IRAQ

  (Mr. ELLISON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, this weekend, General David Petraeus 
acknowledged that we will not see any significant improvements in the 
situation on the ground in Iraq by September.
  When President Bush first proposed the troop escalation plan at the 
beginning of this year, he said we should

[[Page 16475]]

know if it's actually working by the beginning of the summer. A couple 
of months later, when the troops were actually on the ground, the 
President revised that time frame, saying that we should have a good 
grasp if the plan is working by September.
  Now we have confirmation from the President's top general on the 
ground that positive signs in Iraq will continue to be elusive.
  The question now is, will the administration do as it has in the past 
and change the deadline?
  Moving deadlines are simply no longer acceptable. President Bush has 
been promising for months that we would see significant changes come 
September, and since that is no longer possible, a significant change 
in direction is needed in Iraq.
  It is time for the President and the congressional Republicans to 
realize that Petraeus is now admitting that no improvements will be 
seen by September.

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