Date: 2007-02-13
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman. my dear friend from California. for the time. Mr. Speaker. after the debate in the Rules Committee last night where I hoped. and I made clear that it was my hope. that there would be an. opportunity for the minority to present an alternative to this debate in the form of an alternative motion. an amendment. it was disappointing that that was not made possible. So now we are faced with a resolution before us that we cannot seek to amend with regard to that extraordinarily serious problem facing the United States of America: the crisis in Iraq. Iraq presents the United States. Mr. Speaker. as the leader of the free world. with very difficult options. tough options. None of the options before us are simple nor easy. Clearly. as in every war in history. mistakes have been made. I believe. for example. that we should have learned the lessons from a neighbor of Iraq. from the creation in the 20th century of the Turkish state. modern Turkish state. by Ataturk. the father of that state. where the ability of religious parties. for example. to insert themselves into the political process was significantly limited. I think we could have done things such as that. I admit. we all must admit. that mistakes have been made. But. Mr. Speaker. an the Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset said: "Man is man plus his circumstances." and our circumstances in Iraq today constitute our options. What are our options? One option is partition. I do not believe that it is reasonable nor appropriate nor acceptable to very important realities in the region and factors in the region. I dont think that is a reasonable alternative. Another alternative is to withdraw before the situation is stabilized. before the democratically elected government in Iraq is stable. That is an option. I happen to believe that the resolution before us. in effect. says this is the beginning of withdrawal. That is what the resolution says in effect. Melt it down. The resolution states this is the beginning of withdrawal. despite the fact that the situation in Iraq by the democratically elected government has not been stabilized. So what will occur if we withdraw prematurely? Ethnic cleansing on a massive scale. obviously. the collapse of the current government. the creation of an ideal vacuum in power. a power vacuum for international terrorism. We would see the creation of terrorist camps that would dwarf what we saw in Afghanistan before 9/11. Inevitably a surge in influence and the projection of power by the Iranian dictatorship. That uncontrolled projection of power in its quest to acquire. by the way. a nuclear weapon. that uncontrolled projection of power by Iran may very possibly lead to a regional war. Mr. Speaker. because the reality of the matter is that that region of the world cannot permit the uncontrolled projection of power by the Iranian dictatorship. Now. the withdrawal could be. as I have stated. either announced and immediate or announced and phased. The reality of the matter is what the new congressional majority is bringing to the floor today is an announcement of withdrawal irrespective of what the situation may be on the ground in Iraq. Another alternative. Mr. Speaker. is the President of.the United States attempt to stabilize the situation. to provide sufficient order. sufficient absence of chaos. for the government of Iraq to survive. for the sake not only of Iraq but of our national security. That is an option the President of the United States is trying to convert into a reality for the sake of our national security. Now. Mr. Speaker. the options before us are not difficult. The resolution before us constitutes the wrong message at the wrong time in the wrong manner.