[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 143 (Wednesday, September 10, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8327-S8328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise to speak on behalf of amendment 
No. 5368, which Senator Graham of South Carolina and I have filed. It 
is an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which we 
hope to be able to call up in the next day or two.
  This amendment expresses the sense of the Senate recognizing the 
strategic success of the troop surge in Iraq and expressing gratitude 
to the members of the U.S. Armed Forces who have made that success 
possible.
  It was exactly 1 year ago today, September 10, 2007, that GEN David 
Petraeus came to Capitol Hill to testify about the situation in Iraq. 
At that time, General Petraeus laid out the facts. He gave us an 
accurate and honest assessment of the situation on the ground. He 
presented the growing evidence that the surge was working and that 
security there was improving.
  Many, I fear, did not want to listen to General Petraeus, because 
many had already made up their minds about the surge. They were wedded 
to the idea that the surge was a mistake because they were wedded to 
the idea that the war was a mistake and that, in fact, we had already 
lost it. They didn't want to hear evidence that General Petraeus 
presented that day that America could still win this critical fight. As 
a result, even before GEN David Petraeus set foot on Capitol Hill, this 
honorable American soldier was met by a hail of preemptive attacks by 
opponents of the surge and the war.
  One group, moveon.org, made the absolutely irresponsible and 
offensive accusation that General Petraeus would try to cook the books 
to justify the surge. But 1 year later, we know the truth. It was, in 
fact, moveon.org that was cooking the books, not General Petraeus. The 
general was right that the surge was working, and his critics were 
wrong. Had we heeded their advice to abandon the surge and retreat from 
Iraq in 2007, the United States would have suffered by its own decision 
a catastrophic defeat in Iraq that would have had terrible consequences 
far beyond Iraq for years to come. Fortunately, we did not abandon 
General Petraeus and his brave troops, and as a result, the situation 
in Iraq has now completely reversed.
  In the 12 months since General Petraeus came before Congress to 
testify on this very day a year ago, almost every imaginable indicator 
of progress in Iraq, particularly political, economic, military, and 
security, has changed for the better. The surge is not just a tactical 
success, as some of its opponents have suggested. It is a strategic 
success for the United States and for the cause of freedom. Because of 
the surge, our two most threatening enemies in the world today--al-
Qaida and Iran--are weaker and America is safer.
  I don't believe this is a matter of opinion by this Senator. I 
believe it is now a matter of fact that should be acknowledged. I know 
some opponents of the surge have recently tried to write off this 
remarkable success by claiming it doesn't matter. They say the success 
of the surge is irrelevant because Iraq itself is irrelevant, a 
distraction from the real central front of the war on terror which they 
say is Afghanistan.
  This is a profoundly mistaken and misguided argument. Both Iraq and 
Afghanistan are important, but I ask my colleagues: Does anyone here 
believe it is irrelevant if al-Qaida wins or loses in Iraq, a nation 
that historically has been at the heart of the Arab world? Does anyone 
here really believe it is irrelevant if Iran succeeds or fails in its 
efforts to seize control of Iraq? Does anyone really want to tell our 
brave men and women in uniform in Iraq that the hard-won gains they 
have achieved over the past year, the lives that have been lost in that 
effort through their struggle and sacrifice are irrelevant? The answer, 
to me, is clearly no.
  So let there be no doubt, the outcome of the war in Iraq is anything 
but irrelevant. On the contrary, in my opinion, there are few matters 
more important to the safety and security of the United States today 
than whether we win or lose in Iraq.
  If there is anyone in this Chamber who doubts the strategic stakes in 
Iraq, I urge them to listen to General Petraeus. Listen to General 
Petraeus who warned us in an interview published today in the 
Washington Post that ``Iraq is still viewed as the central front for 
al-Qaida.'' Let me repeat that: ``Iraq is still viewed as the central 
front for al-Qaida,'' which is to say by al-Qaida. Not Afghanistan, 
Iraq; not Pakistan, Iraq.
  This is not the opinion of a Member of Congress. It is not the 
opinion of a politician running for office. It is the judgment of 
America's most successful battlefield commander in the war on terror 
which began 7 years ago tomorrow when America was brutally attacked on 
9/11/2001. This is the judgment of a general whom this Senate confirmed 
as the Supreme Commander for U.S. Forces in the Middle East and South 
Asia, who is soon to become the Commander in Chief at CENTCOM. What 
this general tells us is that it is Iraq, not Afghanistan, that is the 
central front of al-Qaida's war on us as defined by them, by the enemy.
  One year ago, many in Congress did not want to listen to General 
Petraeus. In the 12 months since then, however, we have been presented 
with ample evidence why that was a mistake. I hope we will not repeat 
that mistake again.
  So today on the 1-year anniversary of General Petraeus's testimony 
before Congress, let's resolve to come together across party lines. It 
is time to recognize reality. It is time to acknowledge that the surge 
has been a strategic success in the central front of the war on the 
terrorists who attacked us 7 years ago tomorrow morning. It is time to 
express thanks to our courageous men and women in uniform who made the 
surge possible, rather than undercutting their struggle and sacrifices 
as irrelevant. And it is time to pledge that the hard-won gains secured 
by the surge will be honored and preserved, not squandered by attempts 
to impose arbitrary timetables for withdrawal, regardless of what is 
happening on the ground in Iraq.
  The good news is that all of the troops who were sent to Iraq as part 
of the surge, approximately 30,000, have now returned home because of 
the success of the surge, and they are not being replaced. President 
Bush announced just yesterday that an additional 8,000 troops will be 
withdrawn by next February. Again, because the surge has worked, 
because the Iraq Security Forces are more capable of protecting their 
own country, because the political leadership of the country has come 
together to govern--giant steps along the path to what we have been 
hoping for throughout this conflict.
  That is why Senator Graham and I have offered this bipartisan 
amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. We hope the Senate 
can unite to take up and adopt this amendment. It is not going to 
happen today on the 1-year anniversary of the Petraeus testimony, but I 
hope it will happen soon.
  Let's stop for a moment, is what we are asking, and acknowledge the 
historic significance of what has been achieved at great sacrifice by 
the men and women who have worn the uniform of the United States, by 
the coalition forces who have been there, and, indeed, by the Iraq 
Security Forces themselves.
  Eighteen months ago, Iraq was in chaos. Very few thought we could 
achieve success there. Yet now in the space of less than 2 years an 
extraordinary turnaround, one of the most remarkable in the history of 
the American military, the proud history of the American military, has 
been brought about. I truly believe the men and women who have served 
there under General Petraeus, now soon under General Odierno, a 
wonderfully prepared and able and strong leader, will be viewed by 
history as America's next or newest ``greatest generation.''
  Obviously, there is still much we need to do to secure ultimate 
victory in Iraq. Of course, we still face other great challenges from 
terrorists throughout the world and from others, such as autocratic 
powers rising again.
  But at this moment, particularly on this day, I wanted to give thanks 
for the truly historic achievement that belongs to GEN David Petraeus 
and the men and women of the American military who have served under 
him. I hope this amendment can be brought up, and

[[Page S8328]]

when it is, we will come together as Americans who are grateful to our 
troops for a job well done.
  I thank the Chair. I thank everyone here who stayed until I finished.
  I yield the floor and wish everyone a good night.

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