For the first time a frank and open debate about our involvement in the Iraq Quagmire and the need to get out of the mess Bush made has occurred on the floor of Congress. Republicans tried hard to prevent this debate, prevent the public from hearing exactly where people stand. Democrats insisted on the debate. Here are some excerpts from that Debate from Salon.com [with my commentary, of course]:

"We have to get out now, not two years from now, after a new president takes office. We're killing them and they're killing us and nothing is getting better and the reasons we started this turned out to be false. The American people know this and today they are watching our debate. They will judge us by our actions."
-- Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash.

[BINGO!!! McDemott is the one who gets it the most and states it the best. So I put his quote first.]

"In order to succeed in Iraq, there must be diplomatic and political initiatives. There has been no sustained and effective effort to engage Iraq's neighbors diplomatically and there has been no sustained and effective effort to engage Iraqi factions politically. ... President Bush's escalation proposal will not make America safer, will not make our military stronger and will not make the region more stable. And it will not have my support."
-- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

[I am glad the Democratic leader of the House is standing against the McCain/Bush/Lieberman escalation. But I wonder what she means by "success" in Iraq given the complete absense of an exit strategy...in fact the complete absense of a game plan...or even a reason for going in in the first place.]

"War is never easy and almost never goes according to plan. Al-Qaida and their supporters in the region have been steadfast..."
-- House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

[Note to the very corrupt and apparantly uninformed Boehner: al-Qaeda had nothing to do with Iraq. Being in Iraq has been DETRIMENTAL to our war against al-Qaeda. Get OUT of Iraq and REFOCUS on fighting the people who actually attacked us.]

"Madam Speaker, where's your plan for victory in Iraq?" -- Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C.

[A good question. But then again, why isn't he asking Bush this very same question. Why are we in Iraq in the first place? What is our strategy? What is our exit plan? And why aren't the Republicans in Congress asking these questions of Bush and McCain before they support escalation?]

"The majority of Congress wants de-escalation. The majority of the American people want de-escalation. Many Republicans throughout the nation...want de-escalation. Poll numbers show that even the Iraqi people want the United States to gradually withdraw. ... But the administration wants escalation. So it is going its own way, nearly alone."
-- House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos, D-Calif.

[No, Congressman, not alone. The Bush administration is supported by Exxon/Mobil, Halliburton and all the other war profiteers. When will Congress investigate this war profiteering?]

"The president's plan to send more of our best and bravest to die refereeing a civil war in Iraq is wrong. It's time for a new direction in Iraq."
-- Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., an Iraq war veteran.

[It is time we have a direction in Iraq PERIOD. Preferrably out.]

"We cannot support our troops without supporting their mission..." -- Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif.

[Once again...WHAT MISSION??? Why are we in there? What is our goal? NO ONE has defined that. All the reasons we went in were lies. So why are we there?]

"...it is clear that eliminating or cutting funding for our men and women who wear the uniform of the United States of America is not a plan for ensuring stability in the Middle East. It is, rather, a recipe for empowering our enemies and endangering our troops."
-- House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

[No, Mr. uber-Corrupt Republican, we don't HAVE a mission in Iraq and our very presence there is what has empowered our enemies and endangered our troops. Pulling them out will save the lives of our men and women who wear the uniform of the United States of America. And speaking of wearing the uniform, while Democrat Patrick Murphy of PA DID wear the uniform, Halliburton Republican Roy Blunt never did and is one of the infamous Republican Chickenhawks.]

"All of us long for a world in which the mortal challenge of Islamist militant extremism does not exist. But that world is a fantasy and that's the world this resolution seems to address."
-- Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

[Ummm...and how does invading one of the most secular Muslim nations in existance based on lies in any way help in the war against Islamic extremism? Reminder: al-Qaeda had almost NO PRESENCE in Iraq before we invaded. Our presence in Iraq is the NUMBER ONE al-Qaeda recruiting aid. And another reminder: there is NO al-Qaeda presence in Iran either. If we invade, we will open up THAT nation to al-Qaeda as well. So, why are we fighting a war of lies that does NOTHING to stop Islamic extremism?]

And what about YOU? Want to give YOUR opinion to the media and to Congress? You have a voice in this debate as well. Use it!