[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6159-6160]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      NO MILITARY SOLUTION TO IRAQ

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, one of the truest statements about the 
occupation of Iraq was uttered by one of our own generals.
  The commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, General David Petraeus, said 
that

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there is no military solution in Iraq. In his own words, and I quote 
him, ``There is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq, to 
the insurgency of Iraq.''
  I ask all of us, Is this another case of the President not listening 
to his top brass? When is he going to learn that, despite the brave and 
courageous efforts of our men and women in uniform, we cannot bomb, we 
cannot shoot our way to peace in Iraq?
  General Petraeus even said that we should be refocusing our 
diplomatic efforts in and around Iraq, saying that talks should 
include, and I quote him again, ``some of those who have felt the new 
Iraq did not have a place for them.''
  I applaud him for his candor. He sees what is going on on the ground. 
He knows that the current approach is just not working.
  The men and women under his command have given so much for this 
misguided occupation. They went in without armor they needed for their 
Humvees and even for their own bodily protection. They went in looking 
for weapons of mass destruction that did not work out too well. They 
went in to accomplish a mission that was not clearly defined, and there 
was no exit plan. How can we ask our troops to continue down this road?
  The Bush administration, as we have seen in the reports about Walter 
Reed, has even failed our troops when they come home. Shame on the 
President. Shame on Veterans Affairs Secretary Nicholson. This is not 
the way to care for those who have given so very much.
  The American people know what to do, even if lawmakers are slow to 
act. Overwhelming numbers in poll after poll say that we need to bring 
our troops home and end this disastrous foray into foreign policy. And 
we just don't need the polls to tell us that. Look at the calls, look 
at the letters, look at the e-mails that come into our offices. People 
are demanding that the White House wake up to reality and put an end to 
this mission, a mission that was not accomplished.
  The best way to honor the legacy of those who have given their lives 
in this occupation is to bring our troops home and work with the 
international community to strengthen and promote security in Iraq. It 
is the mandate from the American people, and it is the Congress's moral 
obligation.

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