[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4245]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            IRAQ RESOLUTION

  (Ms. CASTOR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, over the last 2 days Republicans who support 
the President's troop escalation plan have had two main message points. 
The first is that the resolution opposing the President's plan is 
nonbinding and meaningless, and the second is that the resolution will 
be the ``end of civilization,'' to borrow a term from a columnist. They 
cannot have it both ways.
  What we are doing over these 3 days of debate is having a real 
discussion about changing the course of the war in Iraq. For those who 
support the Bush-Cheney escalation, this debate serves as a prime 
opportunity to explain why they think this escalation will work when 
four other surges have not worked.
  It is a shame that some have ignored the merits of the resolution and 
focused on political calculation. In fact, several Republicans sent out 
a letter saying this debate should not even be about the Iraq war 
today. If we let Democrats force us into a debate on the surge or the 
current situation in Iraq, we lose.
  Far from it, Mr. Speaker. No one will lose by having a debate. In 
fact, our great democracy benefits and the American people win by 
knowing that we are charting a new direction.

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