[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17687]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




LUGAR AND VOINOVICH COMMENTS ON IRAQ ARE THE LATEST EXAMPLE THAT WE ARE 
                      OVERDUE FOR A NEW DIRECTION

  (Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, every day now, it's becoming more and more 
apparent that the President's troop escalation plan is not stemming the 
civil war in Iraq.
  In fact, since the plan took effect earlier this year, violence in 
Iraq is up, and our soldiers are paying a heavy price on the 
battlefield. For months now, Democrats have stood united in our 
commitment to forge a new direction in Iraq, but our efforts have 
received very little support from congressional Republicans.
  It appears that is beginning to change. Earlier this week, one of the 
most respected Members of the Republican party on international 
affairs, Senator Richard Lugar, said that we must recalibrate our 
strategy in Iraq to fit our domestic political conditions and broader 
needs of national security. Then yesterday, Senator Voinovich said that 
he doesn't believe the Iraqis are going to get it until they know we 
are leaving.
  Both Senator Lugar and Senator Voinovich's comments are a blow to the 
White House and serve as yet another example of long-time supporters of 
the President's Iraq policy believing we are long overdue for a new 
direction. It's time for the congressional Republicans to face the 
reality and join us in dramatically changing course in Iraq.

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