[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 23]
[House]
[Page 31404]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             WARNING AGAINST IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ

  (Mr. BAIRD asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BAIRD. My colleagues, as someone who opposed the invasion of Iraq 
and believes it was one of the most egregious mistakes in the history 
of this country, I rise today to implore you to not make a mistake 
today by demanding that we begin an immediate withdrawal.
  The facts on the ground are that the situation is improving in Iraq. 
Courageous Americans have given their lives and time away from their 
families to make that happen. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died 
in a conflict that we created. We have a chance now to try to improve 
the situation.
  Progress is being made. Do not let anyone today say it is not. 
Violence is down. Political leaders are reaching out across the aisle. 
Shias are meeting with Sunnis. Sunnis are meeting with Shias. They need 
more time to succeed, and an insecure situation will undermine the 
progress, not further it.
  We need to have more time to debate this resolution today. We need to 
take the good parts of it, keep those in, but abandon this requirement 
for an immediate withdrawal.
  There is a big difference between 1 year, which this measure says we 
have to be out in, or a 10-year horizon. We should find the nuance now 
that we can agree on.

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