mr. speaker , as i listen to these statements made about public opinion polls , i would like to point to my colleagues the abc news poll about which my friend referred . 
seventy-one percent of the iraqis polled said that their lives were very good or quite good ; 61 percent reported the security situation is very good or quite good in the area where they reside ; 64 percent said they expect their lives to be much or somewhat better a year from now . 
i know that my friend from ohio is introducing a resolution , he spoke about it earlier today , talking about the independence and the iraqis making a choice as far as our presence . 
the iraqi president , jalal talabani , made it very clear in an editorial that he wrote in the wall street journal . 
he said : `` a timetable will aid the terrorists and tell them that all they have to do is wait . 
military plans must be flexible . 
we should have the suppleness to respond to the often-changing level of terrorist threat. '' that is not an american military leader making that statement . 
that is the president of iraq . 
with that , mr. speaker , i would like to yield 3 minutes to the very distinguished chairman of the republican study committee , my friend from columbus , indiana ( mr. pence ) xz4003150 . 
