[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 20543]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   THE NEW STRATEGY; IRAQ IS WORKING

  (Mr. BRADY of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, traveling to Iraq this past weekend 
to see firsthand how the surge is working, I really expected the worst. 
Instead, I am very encouraged.
  Communities all across Iraq are turning against al Qaeda and working 
with Iraqi and coalition forces to take back their cities. Half of 
Baghdad is no longer safe for insurgents. Al Qaeda is not down and out 
but clearly back on its heels, rejected by the very communities and 
religious leaders it claims to fight for.
  Now make no mistake, there are still serious challenges, including 
high-profile bombings, the need for Iraq's Government to resolve key 
issues now, and Iran's continued support for terrorism. But I am 
convinced the new strategy is working, and we have impressive leaders 
and impressive troops in place to see even more progress.
  Mr. Speaker, while Congress has the right to debate this war, it has 
the responsibility to help win it as well. That means letting this new 
strategy work through the end of the year, or the beginning of the 
next, if we are truly serious about a stable Iraq and a safer America.

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