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Middle East Moderate and Secular Leaders
Offer Ideas for Stabilizing Iraq
House of Representatives - November 14, 2006

Madam Speaker, last week the American people voted for new ideas and a new direction in Iraq. Changing the Secretary of Defense was a good first step, but we have a long way to go, and the situation is getting worse.

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Last week, I went to Amman, Jordan, to listen to a cross-section of moderate secular leaders from the region. They gave me their ideas for stabilizing Iraq. It is a way forward and it comes from the people in the region closest to the chaos.

These leaders believe the U.S. should redeploy our soldiers to the borders between Iraq and Syria and Iraq and Iran. These leaders believe strategic redeployment can stop the infiltration of violence and get U.S. soldiers out of harm's way in Baghdad.

The leaders gave me a four-point plan they believe will save American and Iraqi lives and their country. Strategic redeployment is a key element. We should do it.

In medicine, doctors are taught to listen to the patient. The saying is, "Listen to the patient. He's telling you what's the matter." Too often we have gone in like a doctor who had an idea that they knew what was wrong and how to fix it.