U. S. Troops Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act, 2007--Continued

Floor Speech

U.S. TROOP READINESS, VETERANS' HEALTH, AND IRAQ ACCOUNTABILITY ACT, 2007--Continued -- (Senate - March 27, 2007)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the amendment which we are going to vote on very shortly in the Senate is a historic amendment. It is an amendment which I think will be followed very carefully not just in the United States but around the world, particularly in Iraq.

Understand what this amendment does. The Cochran amendment removes the language which starts to bring American troops home. The Cochran language, instead, calls on the President to make periodic reports to Congress on the progress in Iraq. With all due respect to those who support that amendment, periodic reports will not bring this war to an end. Periodic messages from the White House will not turn over this war to the Iraqis to defend their own country.

What we have seen in Iraq is the worst foreign policy mistake in our time. We have paid so dearly in our Nation for this mistake. Over 3,200 of our bravest soldiers have given their lives. Over 24,000 have come home injured, some with serious injuries that will haunt them for a lifetime. We have spent $500 billion of our treasure in Iraq that could have been spent in the United States for the betterment of our people. We have given to the Iraqi people more than any other Nation could ask for. We have stood behind them, we have deposed their dictator, we have given them free governance and a chance at a constitution and free elections. Now it is time for us to make it clear to the Iraqis that it is their country, it is their war, and it is their future.

This President recently said we need to continue to send soldiers, more soldiers, into Iraq. Sadly, many of them are being sent to battle without the equipment, the training, the rest they need, and the time at home with their families. We are pushing these brave men and women to the limit. Voting for the Cochran amendment says it is enough that the President sends us every 60 or 90 days a report; that he tells us how things are going; how we are doing. Is that why we are in Congress, to receive reports from the President, to put them on a bookshelf somewhere and hope a staffer has time to read them? I think not.

What we are here to do is speak for the American people who want a new direction in Iraq. They want this Congress to stand up once and for all and say to this President that this policy has to change. American soldiers must start to come home in an orderly manner and the Iraqis have to stand and defend their own country. A vote for the Cochran amendment, sadly, will take away any type of incentive for the Iraqis to do the right thing for their own Nation.

Many have studied this over the last 4 years, a war that has gone on longer than World War II. They have come to the same conclusions--the Iraq Study Group and many others--it is time for the United States to announce a new policy. The Cochran amendment says we will stay with the old policy; we will receive periodic reports from the White House. That is not the answer.

What we need to do is to stand behind our soldiers by bringing them home as quickly as possible.

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