[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 26230]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         THE MEASURE OF SUCCESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, the military announced yesterday that the 
number of monthly U.S. combat deaths fell to the lowest point in a 
year. Military and administration officials touted this as a success.
  Is this the way we're measuring success in Iraq these days? Sixty-
four brave members of our military forces were killed in September. And 
that is a success? That is something to brag about?
  Tell that to the 64 families who will have to celebrate the holidays 
without their loved ones this year. Tell that to the children who lost 
a parent. Tell that to the mother who prayed every single day for the 
safe return of her child.
  That is not a success, Mr. Speaker. That is a tragic loss of life. We 
have lost over 3,800 brave men and women in uniform in the occupation 
of Iraq. At least 28,000 have been wounded. How many is too many before 
the administration sees the errors of its ways? I can't begin to guess.
  And what about the Iraqi families? Press reports indicate that nearly 
1,000 Iraqis were killed during the month of September. Tens of 
thousands were displaced from their homes in September.
  Is this another success of the administration? Tell that to the 
children who can't go to school, to the hospitals trying to treat 
patients without a consistent supply of electricity, to the families 
who just want to live a normal life.
  The international community, the so-called coalition of the willing, 
sees the writing on the wall. In fact, British Prime Minister Gordon 
Brown just announced that 1,000 British troops will leave by the end of 
the year.
  And speaking of milestones, Mr. Speaker, the number of coalition 
partner deaths recently reached 4,000. Enough is enough.
  This Congress must, we must take bold steps to bring our troops home 
and to help the Iraqi people return to their lives. Only when the 
United States military presence, troops and contractors leave Iraq will 
the real healing and national rebuilding begin.
  We don't need any more reports. What we need is action. We need the 
Commander in Chief to support the troops. We need him to bring our 
troops home, not in a year, not in 10, now. And we have seen that this 
administration will not redeploy the troops unless Congress forces its 
hand.
  Eighty-four Members of the House have sent a letter to the President 
saying that we will only support spending bills that fully fund the 
safe, orderly and responsible redeployment of our troops and our 
military contractors. No more, no less.
  Join us in our resolve. Support our troops. Bring them home.

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