Orderly and Responsible Iraq Redeployment Appropriations Act Transcript: Congressional Record November 14, 2007

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of this bill and the effort by this Congress to bring accountability to the war in Iraq.

This war is in desperate need of a new direction. For nearly 5 years, our brave men and women have valiantly toed the line for this administration, and I'm proud to say that they have had great successes in their mission. We have seen a terrible dictator overthrown, tried and put to death, and in his place the people of Iraq carried out free and open elections. For all of this, we owe our soldiers and their families a debt of thanks.

But today's debate is not about the purpose of this war. We are here to make a decision on how best to bring accountability to this engagement. Today's legislation will keep soldiers on the ground to oversee diplomatic missions, protect U.S. citizens, equip and train Iraqis to stand on their own and continue to engage in targeted attacks on terrorists as we seek them out. This is a responsible strategy that worked for Eisenhower in South Korea when troops remained to oversee the DMZ after major operations had ended, and it can work for America today in Iraq.

However, I have long felt that it is time to remove our men and women from the kill zones of Iraq. Our soldiers are trained to do the job of the United States military, not the job of police-on-the-beat for the nation of Iraq. We need to redeploy our troops so they can continue to carry out the work of defending America from terrorist threats around the globe. It is time for the Iraqis to occupy their own country with their own military and police force.

This bill begins the redeployment of our combat troops, while continuing to fund initiatives for our men and women that protect them from IEDs, traumatic brain injury and more. But the days of a blank check from this Congress must come to an end. The American people deserve a new direction in Iraq, and this legislation is an important step.

I would like to add that I bristle when I hear the other side talk of "cut and run'' Democrats. The legacy of the Democratic Party is one of great wartime leaders. Andrew Jackson may have done the cutting at the Battle of New Orleans, but it was Colonel Pakenham who did the running. It was President Wilson who convinced the American people to take on the oppressors in the First World War. It was President Roosevelt who said "we have nothing to fear but fear itself'' before leading the charge into the battlefields of Asia and Nazi Germany. And it was President Truman who ended that war by dropping a nuclear weapon.

I am a member of a Democratic Party that has never cut and run, but has been responsible with our men and women in regard to their safety and families, as well as our national security. We need a change in Iraq and a change in course. This must happen.