The House of Representatives is debating a resolution this week that opposes President Bush’s Iraq escalation. The resolution is just 58 words long: “Disapproving of the decision of the President announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.â€?

Think Progress has reported a leaked letter obtained today by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s (D-MD) office, and it reveals a conservative strategy to avoid talking about the central question of the debate.

In the letter, leading conservative Reps. John Shadegg (R-AZ) and Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) inform their allies: “The debate should not be about the surge or its details. This debate should not even be about the Iraq war to date, mistakes that have been made, or whether we can, or cannot, win militarily.â€? Shadegg and Hoekstra warn, if conservatives are forced to debate “the surge or the current situation in Iraq, we lose…. the debate must be about the global threat of the radical Islamic movement.â€?

If you’d like to read the full letter, it’s here.

They say when giving court testimony that you shouldn’t re-adjust your seated position, nor flinch, gulp, or blink excessively- all signs of squeamishness and nervousness, likely interpreted by the jury as indications you are possibly lying, embellishing, or in doubt.

+UPDATED:
“This grand debate is welcomed but it could be that this is nothing more than a distraction from the dangerous military confrontation approaching with Iran and supported by many in leadership on both sides of the aisle.”

Read/Watch Rep. Ron Paul’s speech (c/o antiwar.com) here.