Mr. Reid: Madam President, the White House has been telling America that Democrats are doing the wrong thing by calling for a change of course in Iraq. They say holding the Iraqi Government accountable is wrong. They say finding a political solution in Iraq is wrong. They say redeploying troops out of a civil war is wrong. They have said even debating a strategy for changing course is dangerous, and many Senate Republicans have backed that up by blocking several of our attempts to debate this issue here on the Senate Floor.
The American people want us to debate the war, and they want us to change the course. Listen to what the President's own Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said in the last few hours, and I quote:
The debate in Congress has been helpful in demonstrating to the Iraqis that American patience is limited. The strong feelings expressed in the Congress about the timetable probably has had a positive impact in terms of communicating to the Iraqis that this is not an open-ended commitment.
The President and some of my Republican colleagues have also attempted to create a false crisis by claiming that Democrats are putting the troops in danger by not sending the supplemental bill immediately. But today, the Pentagon acknowledged what Democrats have long known--that President Bush continues to misstate the reality on the ground and in Iraq to score political points.
Like the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, the Pentagon now acknowledges that it can pay for the Iraq war at least through June with the funds that have already been provided.
I hope the President and our Republican colleagues in Congress will put these false claims aside so we can get back to working toward a bipartisan solution.
Yesterday I met with President Bush to express the will of the American people, senior military officials, and a bipartisan majority of Congress that we must change course in Iraq. I told President Bush that, going on to 5 years, more than 3,300 American soldiers lost, tens of thousands wounded, a third of them gravely wounded, and billions and billions of dollars depleted from our Treasury, we as a country must change course in Iraq.
Conditions in Iraq get worse by the day. Now we find ourselves policing another nation's civil war. We are less secure from the many threats to our national security than we were when the war began. As long as we follow the President's path in Iraq, the war is lost. But there is still a chance to change course and we must change course. No one wants us to succeed in the Middle East more than I do. But there must be a change of course. Our brave men and women overseas have passed every test with flying colors. They have earned our pride and our praise. More important, they deserve a strategy worthy of their sacrifice.
The supplemental bill we passed with bipartisan support offers that. It includes a reasonable and attainable timeline to reduce combat missions and refocus our efforts on the real threats to our country's security. It offers a new path, a new direction forward. If we put politics aside, I believe we can find a way to make America safer and stronger.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The Presiding Officer: The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. Alexander: Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The Presiding Officer: Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. Alexander: Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that I may speak as in morning business for as much time as I may require.
The Presiding Officer: Without objection, it is so ordered. The Senator is recognized.
Mr. Alexander: I thank the Chair.
(The remarks of Mr. Alexander pertaining to the introduction of S. 1168 are located in today's Record under "Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.")
Mr. Alexander: Madam President, I yield the floor.
The Presiding Officer: The Senator from Utah is recognized.
