Michael Burgess: “a year ago today, sovereignty was returned to the country of Iraq and the Coalition Provisional Authority left. But…”

“a year ago today, sovereignty was returned to the country of Iraq and the Coalition Provisional Authority left. But, Madam Speaker, over the past several weeks, the negative press over our progress and polls here at home seem to have undermined a lot of the good activity that has occurred there. The goal of the attackers, the goal of the insurgents, is to discourage Iraqis from participating in their own government. A second goal, of course, is to weaken our resolve here at home. Ironically, they seem to be failing in the first choice, but succeeding in the second. Madam Speaker, every time I have traveled to Iraq, I have been struck by the disparity between what I see on my television here at home in the United States and what is actually happening on the ground in Iraq. Our soldiers should not have to look over their shoulders to see if we support them in their mission. I urge my colleagues in this House on both sides to carefully consider their rhetoric when they use words like ``quagmire'' and ``civil war'' in respect to the conflict in Iraq. ____________________”