Speeches
Pelosi: ‘We Came in the Spirit of Hope That the President Would Take Yes for an Answer’
04/18/2007
“I concur with the view of the
distinguished Senate Majority Leader that this was a productive meeting with the
President. He took the time to hear our views and shared his with us. We came
here in a spirit of hope, recognizing that this is an historic opportunity for
the President and the Congress to work together to wind down this war and to
ensure the security of our country and the stability of the region.
“We came in the spirit of hope
that the President would take yes for an answer. The legislation that we will
send to his desk certainly supports the troops. It gives the President
everything he asks for as the Senate Majority Leader said, and more. So it
supports the troops, it honors our commitments to our veterans, which of course
these commitments have been unfulfilled. And it holds the Iraqi government
accountable. It does so in a way that also strengthens our military, which is
essential to the security of our country.
“I believe we were able to tell
the President some things about our legislation that he may or may not have been
aware of. That this is about a change in mission, from combat to training, to
protecting our diplomats there, to fighting terrorism in the region, and to
staying there to protect our interests wherever they may be threatened in the
region.
“It’s about accountability. It
gives the President all of the benchmarks that he himself proposed, and all the
benchmarks regarding the Iraqi government that he has endorsed. It does so,
though, with an element of accountability. We cannot give the President a blank
check, but we’re willing to work with him to come to agreement.
“We look forward to continuing the
conversation with the President. It is our plan to pass legislation next week,
so the President can take it up at his earliest time. And hopefully give some
hope to the American people that we understand that they want us to work together to wind down this war and to bring our troops
home.”