As our troops fight and die in Iraq to bring freedom and democracy to the Middle East, this is what House Democrat John Murtha of Pennsylvania has to say...

"All of Iraq must know that Iraq is free," he said. "Free from United States occupation."

Disgusting.

Kudos to the NY Times for putting a long Republican response on the front page.

I (Kay Granger of Texas) traveled to Iraq and I listened to our men and women in uniform who told me how proud they are of what they're doing, and some with tears in their eyes, because they say, The people understand it back home? Do they still support us? Are they still with us? And I've also worked with the women of Iraq who literally risked their lives to run for office so that they could be a part of writing a constitution and having a form of democracy -- and, as they said to me, and having the freedoms, Kay Granger, that you have in the United States.

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I'm Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a member of the International Relations Committee. I represent Miami, Florida.

My stepson, Douglas Lehtinen, and his fiancee are currently serving as Marine officers in Iraq. They are flying F-18s. They enlisted. They're proud to serve their country.

And when we have the ability to communicate with Dougie and Lindsey almost daily about what they're going through, they are very proud of their mission. They're proud of their service. And they know that pulling out now is a serious mistake, not just for the morale of our troops -- who understand their mission -- but also it would be a great defeat for the Iraqi people, who have struggled for so long to build up their country and to make sure that they have democratic governance.

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I have no doubt that, during the darkest days of the Second World War, when reports came back to this country of the number of casualties that we took in, let's say, taking Iwo Jima or in the Battle of the Bulge, I have no doubt that there were Americans who said, God, I wish this was over with. God, I wish those troops could come home.

But I doubt that there were many that said at the same time that they were willing to do it before the job was done and before victory was achieved. - Rep. Tancredo of Colorado