[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 10278-10279]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                LET THE SURGE WORK AND NOT SIGNAL DEFEAT

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Madam Speaker, many in Congress and around this country 
insist that the President take the advice of The Iraq Study Group. 
Well, the President is doing just that. The report states, ``We could, 
however, support a short-term redeployment or surge of American combat 
forces to stabilize Baghdad, or to speed up the training and equipping 
missions needed.''
  Well, my colleagues, that is what the President is trying to do. The 
cochair of the study group, James Baker, had this to say: ``Setting a 
deadline for withdrawal regardless of conditions in Iraq makes even 
less sense today because there is evidence that the temporary surge is 
reducing the level of violence in Baghdad.''
  Rather than support a bill that leaves our troops in harm's way for a 
cause Democrats believe cannot be won, Democratic leaders should be

[[Page 10279]]

willing to vote to allow time to let the surge work and not signal 
defeat.

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