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Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I come to the floor to respond to some of the comments that were just made by my colleague from Massachusetts. I want to start off by saying that I have been very supportive of the President on the war in Iraq because he has had a plan and he has stayed the course. That is what gives me confidence in the President. I think it is what gives confidence to many American people. They understand that he has made a strong commitment in Iraq to stick with the Iraqi people, and he has confidence in those people. Even though the political winds are twirling around, he has been able to ignore those and move forward. He is showing success. Sometimes it is not as great as we would like to see or as dramatic, but I think what we see today in the criticism of the President is individuals who are being spun in the political winds, unlike the President.
When my colleague from Massachusetts calls the strategy of today counterproductive and says we ought to pull out our forces immediately from Iraq, that is a catastrophic suggestion. It is not anything that we should consider very seriously. It wasn't that long ago when my colleague from Massachusetts was saying that it would be a disaster and a disgraceful betrayal of principle to speed up the process and simply lay the groundwork for expedient withdrawal of American troops, which would risk the hijacking of Iraq by former terrorist groups and former Baathists. This quote was in the runup to the 2004 election.
So we see some being spun in the political winds, while the President remains strong, forceful. The President truly is a leader in a very difficult situation in Iraq. That is why I feel so very committed to supporting the President. You cannot deny the fact that this President truly wants to see democracy survive in Iraq, and he truly believes in the Iraqi people.
Contrary to criticism coming from the other side of the aisle, he does have a plan, and he is sticking to that plan.
As we move through various phases of the President's plan, we have seen that criticism has changed from the other side. I think they criticize just for the sake of criticism, trying to get the President off course. But to his credit, he has stayed the course. I think that is commendable. That is what helps make him a strong and effective President.
I want to make this point: Al-Qaida is still a threat in Iraq, but we are making significant advances there. I have to base that on discussions I have had with troops that have come freshly out of Iraq. They all believe they are indeed improving our situation in Iraq. They think they are making a difference in Iraqi lives, and they truly believe the Iraqi people they associate with appreciate what is happening and appreciate their efforts.
There is a statewide elected official in Colorado, Mike Coffman, who has returned from Iraq. His mission was to help set up local governments throughout Iraq. We found in our military forces that we didn't have that expertise. And Mike, who is in the Reserves, could make a difference in Iraq. The military said: We need you, Mike Coffman, to help set up these local governments. He spent almost a year in Iraq helping set up local governments and the story he has to tell is one of progress in Iraq, that the people in Iraq are truly moving forward and trying to set up their local governments. He thinks that our soldiers are making a difference.
Not for one moment has he expressed any regrets in having taken a year out of his political life in Colorado to go to Iraq and make a difference in Iraqi lives and help support the President and the plan he has for stabilizing Iraq and a gradual withdrawal.
This is the point: my colleague from Massachusetts seemed to have learned the lessons of 9/11 when he warned against a precipitous withdrawal from Iraq in the past, but as the political winds have changed, he seems to have forgotten those lessons anew. Republicans will never forget the lessons of 9/11 and will continue to support the President's efforts to bring peace and stability to Iraq.
I am supporting the President because he is staying the course. He has a plan in Iraq. He is putting the plan to work. I think that in the long run he is going to make a difference. We are going to have a better world because of his efforts. We are going to have a more stable Middle East, and this President will truly go down in history as a great leader.
I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
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