[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 23856]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            THE IRAQ REPORTS

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                            HON. MIKE PENCE

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 6, 2007

  Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, as America awaits word from our military 
and diplomatic leaders in Iraq early next week, it's apparent to me 
that many in Congress seem prepared to prejudge our progress and 
dismiss the report of Gen. David Petraeus even before he makes it.
  Many, as was said on the House floor this morning, cite the recent 
GAO report as a basis for accepting retreat and defeat in Iraq. But as 
Fred Kagan, of the American Enterprise Institute, pointed out recently, 
``the mandate of the GAO report was not to evaluate progress broadly 
defined in Iraq; it was to determine whether the Iraqi Government had 
met eighteen benchmarks set by the U.S. Congress.''
  Kagan pointed out that the term ``Anbar,'' actually appears only 
twice in the GAO report despite the extraordinary progress in the Anbar 
province where we have seen Sunni leadership come forward working with 
marines, working with the Al-Maliki government, and defeating Al Qaeda 
in Iraq.
  The so-called ``triangle of death'' is so safe the President of the 
United States was able to land there and meet with Sunni and Shiite 
leaders earlier this week. It's imperative that we stand with our 
soldiers; wait and hear from our military and diplomatic leaders, and 
that we, for the purpose of freedom in Iraq, for the purpose of our 
national honor, we accept nothing short of victory in that nation.

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