[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 14]
[EX]
[Pages 19533-19534]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            IT'S TIME TO SET A DATE TO BRING OUR TROOPS HOME

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 17, 2007

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I would like to submit this insightful 
editorial from the Chicago Sun-Times for the Record. The Sun-Times has 
accurately and incisively

[[Page 19534]]

captured the frustrations of the residents of the Chicagoland area, and 
of Americans around the country. They are tired of this ill-planned and 
ill-executed war, and they believe that it is time to ``set a date to 
bring our troops home.''

              [From the Chicago Sun-Times, July 16, 2007]

   Deadline in Iraq: It's Time To Set a Date To Bring Our Troops Home

       Americans of all political leanings want to understand when 
     our involvement in Iraq will end. We have waited patiently 
     for the positive results the president has repeatedly 
     promised. We have looked for improvements following shifts in 
     military strategy, the approval of benchmarks, the last-ditch 
     surge.
       No matter how much wishful thinking President Bush indulged 
     in last week in finding ``a cause for optimism'' in the White 
     House report on progress in Iraq, Americans heard little to 
     give them confidence that things are improving. The president 
     should face reality and put before the American people a plan 
     to conclude our direct involvement in Iraq. We need to 
     understand the end game.
       Are Iraq's political leaders any closer to resolving their 
     deep, divisive differences? Are they any closer to providing 
     security and basic services for the people? No, on both 
     counts. There has been no real progress toward meeting eight 
     of 18 crucial benchmarks.
       There is, however, progress in Congress toward forcing 
     Bush's hand. The Democratic controlled House voted to require 
     the United States to withdraw most combat troops from Iraq by 
     April 1. Then two leading Republican senators, John Warner of 
     Virginia and Richard Lugar of Indiana, called for Bush to 
     present a contingency plan for Iraq to Congress by Oct. 16.
       Threatened with opposition from more Republicans, the 
     president is pulling out all political stops to keep ahead of 
     that trend. At his worst, he has resorted to recycling cheap 
     scare tactics--warning that the terrorist threat to 
     Americans, on American soil, will increase dramatically the 
     minute we pull soldiers from Iraq.
       In lashing Congress for trying to ``run the war,'' Bush 
     might have been lashing Americans who expressed their ardent 
     opposition to the war at the polls last November. He wants us 
     to wait until Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker 
     release their progress report on Iraq in September before 
     reaching any conclusions. Our concern is if their findings 
     don't jibe with his policy, the president will come up with 
     more reasons for Americans to withhold judgment. To wait some 
     more.
       Some have argued that setting a deadline will give the 
     enemy a target date, allowing the enemy to lie in wait. But 
     not having a plan risks further inciting Americans against 
     the war. It could lead an exasperated Congress to make rash 
     ultimatums that would put soldiers more at risk than if the 
     president initiated a rational plan now.
       The president has had more than enough time to develop and 
     articulate an exit strategy in Iraq. Everyone wants to 
     minimize the mess we'll leave behind. If April 1 doesn't work 
     for the president, what date will? How long does he envision 
     that we'll have to stay? The answer can no longer be 
     ``indefinitely.'' The American people need a plan, and they 
     need it now.

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