[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11790]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
   ARE REPUBLICANS STARTING TO REALIZE THAT INDEFINITELY STAYING THE 
                       COURSE IS NOT A STRATEGY?

  (Mr. HODES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HODES. Mr. Speaker, it appears that congressional Republicans are 
finally coming around to the possibility that the war in Iraq cannot go 
on indefinitely.
  This weekend House Republican leader John Boehner said if this troop 
escalation plan is not working by September or October, a plan B would 
need to be explored. This timid response is a sign that the Republicans 
see the writing on the wall and are desperate to hedge their bets on a 
failed policy.
  The minority leader's timetable of this fall comes just days after 
Mr. Boehner joined President Bush in abandoning the benchmarks for 
Iraqi success the President himself established in January. Last week 
the minority leader and almost every Republican joined the President's 
call for an open-ended commitment of American troops and tax dollars in 
Iraq. Now feeling the pressure from the Americans who wisely support 
benchmarks and timelines, it appears that the Republican leader is 
backtracking.
  The American people and the majority of this Congress will stand firm 
in supporting our troops and showing leadership for a new course in 
Iraq. Let's hope the minority leader lifts his head out of the sand, 
and he and his party and the President join us in moving Iraq in a new 
direction.

                          ____________________