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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 17, 2007
CONTACT: Geoff Embler or Matt Mackowiak
Excerpts from Sen. Hutchison’s Floor Speech on Iraq
WASHINGTON -- Here are excerpts from a floor speech delivered by U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) today on Iraq:
“It appears that the basic message is to tell the president to change strategy or to tell the generals what to do or to micromanage the war. All different kinds of messages are being proposed. But the bottom line, Mr. President, is that we cannot tell the Commander in Chief, the President, nor the commander on the ground, General Petraeus, how to do the jobs that we have asked them to do. You know, we heard from General Petraeus what the new strategy would be. I keep hearing people say, we need a new strategy. We need a new plan, a new plan. We’re in a new plan. And yet the United States Senate is saying, when the new plan is just in its infancy, when the surge of 30,000 troops has just been completed within the last two weeks, and yet we're pulling the rug out from under the new plan.
“We cannot be the greatest country on earth and say, don't trust us if you're our ally and don't fear us if you're our enemy. And that's exactly what we would be doing if we leave Iraq because Congress sets a deadline, regardless of what is happening on the ground in Iraq.
“This is about a war on terror and protecting our freedom. This is not about Iraq in a bubble. It is about making sure that we kill terrorism in the world before it ruins everyone's way of life and takes freedom from everyone.
“This is about making sure that Iraq does not become a stronghold for terrorists. This is to make sure that al Qaeda cannot take over Iraq, terrorize the people as they have done in Afghanistan for years, have the oil revenue that would feed their terrorism and spread it throughout the world. We are fighting al Qaeda in Iraq.
“I met with a group of veterans today who had come back from Iraq. They were so strong and so firm. It was uplifting to talk to them, just as it is uplifting to talk to any of our active duty military. But to talk to those who have had the boots on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, who really know what's happening, you just can't fail to believe that we have to give this a chance, even if the armchair generals back here in Washington have misgivings.
“This is the policy that the United States Senate must stand for and that is to stand for the integrity of America. The integrity of the greatest country on earth, that we will be a formidable enemy and a reliable ally - that we will not flinch when times get tough. It is a legitimate argument about why we got here or when we should have had more troops or how the war has been run up to now. That is legitimate. We can talk about that and it is a legitimate area to debate. But what is not legitimate, Mr. President, is because it is a very tough time that we would say ‘times are too tough, America must leave.’ What kind of honor would that bring on our country and this United States Senate? None. It would not bring honor on this country to cut and run because times are tough.”
--END--
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