[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9325-9326]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                  IRAQ

  Mr. REID. Madam President, the White House has been telling America 
that Democrats are doing the wrong thing by calling for a change of 
course in Iraq. They say holding the Iraqi Government accountable is 
wrong. They say finding a political solution in Iraq is wrong. They say 
redeploying troops out of a civil war is wrong. They have said even 
debating a strategy for changing course is dangerous, and many Senate 
Republicans have backed that up by blocking several of our attempts to 
debate this issue here on the Senate Floor.

[[Page 9326]]

  The American people want us to debate the war, and they want us to 
change the course. Listen to what the President's own Secretary of 
Defense Robert Gates said in the last few hours, and I quote:

       The debate in Congress has been helpful in demonstrating to 
     the Iraqis that American patience is limited. The strong 
     feelings expressed in the Congress about the timetable 
     probably has had a positive impact in terms of communicating 
     to the Iraqis that this is not an open-ended commitment.

  The President and some of my Republican colleagues have also 
attempted to create a false crisis by claiming that Democrats are 
putting the troops in danger by not sending the supplemental bill 
immediately. But today, the Pentagon acknowledged what Democrats have 
long known--that President Bush continues to misstate the reality on 
the ground and in Iraq to score political points.
  Like the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, the Pentagon now 
acknowledges that it can pay for the Iraq war at least through June 
with the funds that have already been provided.
  I hope the President and our Republican colleagues in Congress will 
put these false claims aside so we can get back to working toward a 
bipartisan solution.
  Yesterday I met with President Bush to express the will of the 
American people, senior military officials, and a bipartisan majority 
of Congress that we must change course in Iraq. I told President Bush 
that, going on to 5 years, more than 3,300 American soldiers lost, tens 
of thousands wounded, a third of them gravely wounded, and billions and 
billions of dollars depleted from our Treasury, we as a country must 
change course in Iraq.
  Conditions in Iraq get worse by the day. Now we find ourselves 
policing another nation's civil war. We are less secure from the many 
threats to our national security than we were when the war began. As 
long as we follow the President's path in Iraq, the war is lost. But 
there is still a chance to change course and we must change course. No 
one wants us to succeed in the Middle East more than I do. But there 
must be a change of course. Our brave men and women overseas have 
passed every test with flying colors. They have earned our pride and 
our praise. More important, they deserve a strategy worthy of their 
sacrifice.
  The supplemental bill we passed with bipartisan support offers that. 
It includes a reasonable and attainable timeline to reduce combat 
missions and refocus our efforts on the real threats to our country's 
security. It offers a new path, a new direction forward. If we put 
politics aside, I believe we can find a way to make America safer and 
stronger.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that I may 
speak as in morning business for as much time as I may require.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The 
Senator is recognized.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. I thank the Chair.
  (The remarks of Mr. Alexander pertaining to the introduction of S. 
1168 are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced 
Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah is recognized.

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