[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23347-23348]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                  IRAQ

  Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, I rise today during morning business to 
talk about a trip I made to Iraq. I think the Acting President pro 
tempore made a similar trip during the August recess. I want to make a 
few points regarding that trip.
  I know a lot of people talk about these trips, and they talk about 
the fact that they are choreographed and short term. I do want to say 
my comments are in the context of many hours of committee hearings the 
Acting President pro tempore and I have both sat through in Foreign 
Relations and Armed Services and many other ways developing the 
background prior to being in Iraq.
  I know, again, much is said of these trips. I will say I do not think 
there is anything--and the Chair probably would attest to the same--
like being there on the ground yourself and seeing firsthand our 
troops, seeing our military leaders, seeing leaders of the Iraqi 
Government, and also seeing many of the tribal leaders, the sheiks who 
actually lead in these various areas throughout the country.

[[Page 23348]]

  I wish to make three points, and then I wish to urge something in 
conclusion.
  No. 1, I think the Chair would agree with me the professionalism and 
commitment of our men and women in uniform is absolutely overwhelming. 
The way they conduct themselves on our behalf would almost lead you to 
emotion just in seeing the way they do what they do on our behalf. I 
have noticed that both in State, as I have traveled the State as our 
men and women prepare, but certainly even more so on the ground there 
in Iraq. I am indebted to them. I know the Acting President pro tempore 
and all Americans are indebted to the way they conduct themselves, 
regardless of how we may feel about the conflict that is underway.
  Secondly, I do not think there is any question that we have had 
military gains on the ground. I realize that is uneven. But I think 
there is no question what General Petraeus, General Odierno, and others 
have done on the ground, in beginning the work in a bottoms-up 
approach, where we work with tribal leaders there on the ground to 
secure their own areas, is the right approach. I do not think there is 
any question we are seeing the results of that approach.
  It seems as if a light has gone on where, No. 1, the tribal leaders, 
the sheiks, and others there on the ground are realizing that we are 
there not as occupiers but we are there as enablers. We want to enable 
them to be able to secure their own destiny. We want to leave that 
country other than providing the basic support they may need on an 
ongoing basis.
  Secondly, the terror, if you will, al-Qaida and some of the other 
militant groups have wreaked on these villages has caused them to want 
to band together with us and again try to make sure they do everything 
they can to cause their villages to be peaceful. For that reason, we no 
doubt are seeing gains on the ground as it relates to security.
  I think the third thing we would all agree with is the central 
Government itself has not made the gains we would have hoped more 
security on the ground would have enabled them to do. I think most 
delegations that went there met with various Iraqi officials. I know I 
met with both a Shia and a Sunni deputy president there on the ground 
and talked with them about the lack of benchmarks we had hoped they 
would all meet.
  Obviously, we also are aware the Prime Minister is meeting with the 
President and two deputy presidents on a daily basis to try to reach 
some type of reconciliation so they can move forward on these important 
issues. But the fact is, those benchmarks have not been made in a way 
that we here in the Government would like to have seen them approached 
and progress made.
  Our soldiers have been outstanding. There is no doubt that military 
gains on the ground have occurred, and the central Government has not 
conducted itself in a way that we would have liked to have seen happen.
  In the next week or so we are going to see a number of reports, but 
most important, obviously, to me anyway, is the report General Petraeus 
and Ambassador Crocker will put forward. I urge my fellow Senators on 
the floor to listen to what is going to be said. Obviously, there are 
people here who have a lot invested in various amendments or proposals, 
and there is a human trait we want to see our own proposal, if you 
will, be the one people in the Senate and our country adopt.
  But let me state I do not think there is any question that the 
Petraeus plan is going to discuss redeployments. It is going to discuss 
bringing men and women home from Iraq based on the successes we have 
had on the ground in recent months. I do not think there is any 
question we have seen a change in mission take place on a province-by-
province basis. In other words, one of the things we debated heavily in 
previous debates this year on Iraq was changing the mission of our men 
and women in uniform. Yet we are seeing this occurring province by 
province, as tribal leaders are able, working with our military 
leaders, to take the lead in their own security. So we are seeing that 
change in mission.
  I say to my fellow Senators, let's listen. I think we have an 
opportunity in the Senate for Democrats and Republicans to come 
together around a plan that would unify our country in such a way as we 
are able to bring our country together around what is happening in 
Iraq. I do not know what the details of the Petraeus plan will be. My 
guess is he and others today are actually calibrating what the exact 
redeployment ought to be and what the timing of that ought to be to 
actually make sure we do not lose the successes we have had on the 
ground. But my guess is, there will be redeployments, and I think those 
will be gradual, again, to build on the successes we have had--again, a 
continual and gradual change in the mission underway in Iraq.
  I am of hope, of great hope--and maybe it is my newness to the Senate 
that gives me this optimism still, but I have great hopes that if we 
will all listen to the reports that are being given, and not to those 
people who wish to see us divided, I think we in the Senate have an 
opportunity to come together around a proposal in Iraq that gives us 
the opportunity to build on the successes we have had and to change the 
mission of our men and women so over time what we are doing is 
basically supporting the operations of the Iraqis as they continue 
their move ahead, hopefully, toward a more secure Iraq.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Brown). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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