ANNOUNCES HIS POSITION ON THE HOUSE FLOOR

Washington, Feb 16, 2007 - Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Ocala) took to the House floor to speak against the nonbinding House resolution expressing opposition to the new strategy in Iraq. Stearns urged the House to give the new Commander, General Petraeus, the opportunity to succeed in Iraq.

"I am willing to support the administration and to give our military and our troops the benefit of the doubt, and I will vote against this resolution because I want to give this new strategy a chance, a simple chance to succeed," said Stearns. "If you vote for this resolution, then you are saying you do not wish to give the military and General Petraeus a chance to succeed. In fact, this resolution declares the new strategy in Iraq is a failure before it has even had a chance to be implemented."

Added Stearns; "Any new strategy must be accompanied by a set of strategic benchmarks designed to measure progress in Iraq and to hold the administration and the Iraqi Government accountable for their role in achieving this success."