Mr. Shelby: Madam President, in passing this emergency supplemental appropriations bill this afternoon, the Democratic-controlled Senate has sent a message--one that the war is lost, that we have given up, and that we have no hope of victory.
Today, we have also put an arbitrary deadline on our military. I believe it is unequivocally wrong to do this, the wrong message at exactly the wrong time. I believe we must give our troops the opportunity to win. We cannot tie the hands of our commanders on the ground. We cannot have 535 generals micromanaging the war from the Halls of Congress.
This war is a test of wills. Our defeatist message states that today our will has been broken. This is not the message we want our enemy to hear. Our actions in the Senate have consequences. I believe we have just sent a message--the wrong message--that our efforts were not enough. We have sent a message that the enemy has won. I believe we have sent a message of surrender, a message of submission, a message of failure. And this message was not just sent to those fighting against us in Iraq, it reverberates around the globe. Today, I believe the Senate has illustrated raw partisan politics at its worst.
I believe the American people deserve better. Our troops deserve better. Our Armed Forces need the support of the people--us--who sent them into a war zone, not partisan politics. They need the time to succeed, not a timetable for retreat.
George Orwell once said: The quickest way to end a war is to lose it. Yes, the quickest way to end the war is to lose it. With today's vote, we are well on our way. Yet fortunately, for our troops, the President will veto this bill, and Congress will have enough votes to sustain it.
In the coming weeks, when Congress crafts a new supplemental appropriations bill, I believe we must not use the same narrow-minded approach. We must not send another message of defeat, of surrender.
I yield the floor.
The Presiding Officer: The Senator from California is recognized.
