[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10999]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 ``THE PRESIDENT CANNOT VETO REALITY''

  (Mr. DOGGETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, the President can veto our plan for a safe 
and orderly phased redeployment from Iraq, but he cannot veto reality. 
Our troops are coming home, it's just a question of how much blood and 
money will be spent before they do.
  If the President had listened to the generals, we would never have 
invaded Iraq in the first place. Each day of this unnecessary tragedy 
demonstrates the wisdom of General Schwarzkopf's warning that we would 
become ``like [a] dinosaur in a tar pit.''
  Had he listened to the generals, the President would have deployed 
enough troops to get the job done. But instead, he rejected the advice 
of General Shinseki, and allowed the violence to spiral, and unguarded 
weapon heaps became IEDs.
  If the President had listened to the generals, he would now be 
redeploying our troops instead of sending more, inadequately protected, 
for longer, repeat tours of duty.
  Had the President listened to the generals, our veterans would be 
getting the quality care that they have earned and they deserve.
  But in this Administration, generals who disagree with the President 
earn a new title: Retired.

                          ____________________