[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3399]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1530
                       THE SURGE AND IRAQI FORCES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Solis). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, you will recall that the hallmark of the 
President's so-called surge, the escalation of troops into Iraq, was 
that Iraqi forces would actually be on the front lines, while American 
troops would be providing support.
  In fact, a White House fact sheet from the day the President 
announced escalation, says that the primary element of the strategy is 
to let the Iraqis lead.
  Well, the escalation has begun, and not only are they not leading, we 
are lucky if they even show up. That is right. Reportedly, as many as 
50 percent of the Iraqi troops expected and needed for the Baghdad 
operation aren't reporting to duty. This doesn't bode well, Madam 
Speaker. American troops will now bear the brunt of what promises to be 
deadly, violent, urban warfare.
  We are now finding out that the escalation will be twice as large as 
the President has said, requiring 48,000 additional troops, as opposed 
to 21,000, as originally announced by the President. Now, if Iraqis 
aren't prepared for the fight, it is easy to imagine still more U.S. 
soldiers being sent into the grinder. The surge has barely begun, and 
already, it is failing.
  It is clear, furthermore, that the Maliki government is powerless to 
live up to its promises. Maliki himself owes much of his political 
authority to one of Iraq's most powerful militia leaders. So how, 
exactly, is he going to keep Iraqi communities safe from the militias?
  On their way out the door, General Abizaid and General Casey warned 
that increasing force levels just absolves Iraqis of the responsibility 
for their own security, and they were absolutely right.
  In the State of the Union address, the President said, and I quote 
him, `` . . . it's time for [the Iraqi] government to act. They have 
promised to deploy more of their own troops to secure Baghdad . . . 
They pledged that they will confront violent radicals of any faction . 
. . and they need to follow through.''
  If they don't, where is the ``or else'' in the President's words, and 
where are the consequences if they don't meet these benchmarks and 
honor these commitments?
  Madam Speaker, it is time for fewer carrots and more sticks. Edward 
Luttwak of the Center for Strategic and International Studies put it 
succinctly. He said, ``it's time for the Iraqis to make their own 
history.'' Or, in the words of Luttwak's New York Times op-ed piece 
yesterday, he said, ``To Help Iraq, Let It Fend for Itself. ``
  There is only one solution, a quick military withdrawal from Iraq. I 
have a bill that was sponsored by 33 other Members of Congress that 
will do precisely that. H.R. 508, the Bring Our Troops Home and Iraq 
Sovereignty Restoration Act will do exactly what we need. It will take 
our troops out of harm's way and force Iraqis to secure their own 
country. We won't leave them high and dry. The bill calls for an 
international stabilization force, but one that would come only at the 
request of the Iraqi government for no more than 2 years, and with 
other nations taking on the burden as well.
  H.R. 508 will have our troops home in 6 months, leaving behind no 
permanent military bases and turning over control of the Iraqi oil to 
the Iraqi people. We will not abandon Iraq. We will continue to be a 
partner in the reconciliation and reconstruction, but it is time for us 
to end the military occupation that has failed so tragically. There are 
no good answers here, but one thing is for sure: There is nothing more 
our soldiers can do to bring peace to the streets of Baghdad or any 
other part of Iraq. If anything, our continued presence is aggravating 
an already combustible situation, which, in fact, we created. We 
created this situation with our invasion in the first place. Madam 
Speaker, it is time for Iraqis to defend Iraq, and it is time for 
American troops to come home.

                          ____________________