[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 23644]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




GAO REPORT SHOWS THAT IRAQI GOVERNMENT IS NOT LIVING UP TO ITS PROMISES

  (Mr. HARE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HARE. Mr. Speaker, this week we finally got an objective analysis 
of the situation in Iraq. We shouldn't be surprised that it differs 
significantly from the status report from the White House last month, 
which painted a much rosier political and security scenario in Iraq. 
Nor should we be surprised if its conclusions are different from a 
final report that is scheduled to come from the President this week.
  The GAO findings are not a surprise. When President Bush began this 
troop escalation plan, he promised this Congress that the Iraqis must 
meet these benchmarks, and, if they did not, they would lose the 
support of the American people.
  Many of us who opposed the troop escalation plan were skeptical the 
Iraqis would be able to meet these benchmarks and that 30,000 more 
troops would bring about any real improvements in securing Iraq. The 
GAO report shows that our concerns were justified.
  With the failure of the Iraqi Government to meet 15 of the 18 
benchmarks, it is clear that a change of course is needed. I would hope 
that my Republican colleagues would stop blindly following President 
Bush and conclude, much as this Nation has, that it is time to begin 
bringing our troops home.

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