[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 18328]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                  IRAQ

  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I just want to let my colleagues know 
where I am coming from, along with Senator Lieberman, that amendment 
No. 5368, I believe it is, is an amendment offered by Senator Lieberman 
and myself that speaks of the surge, the success of the surge, how 
vital it was that we turn Iraq around, and the fact that the surge has 
worked.
  General Petraeus said today in the Washington Post, I believe, that 
Iraq is still the central battlefront in the war on terror. Senator 
Obama has disagreed with that on numerous occasions, saying it is 
Afghanistan and Pakistan.
  The truth is, the battle regarding the war on terror is an idea, not 
a place, and the fight now is in Iraq. Bin Laden said: Go to the land 
of the two rivers. Make sure we win that battle. Bin Laden has always 
seen Iraq as an outcome-determinative event. So does General Petraeus. 
So does Senator McCain, Senator Graham, and Senator Lieberman.
  So the good news is that battle has taken place in Iraq between al-
Qaida, the Iraqi people, and the coalition forces, and we have greatly 
diminished al-Qaida. They suffered a mighty blow at the hands of fellow 
Muslims who turned on al-Qaida after tasting their agenda. I cannot 
think of a more appropriate topic for the Senate to take up than to 
comment on what I think is the most historic, successful 
counterinsurgency operation in military history, to memorialize that it 
has worked, to acknowledge those who sacrificed to make it work, those 
who led our men and women in battle. This, to me, is very appropriate 
and important. It was a year ago today that General Petraeus testified 
about his plan in Iraq, and a year later we see stunning success 
militarily, economically, and politically. So I believe with all the 
passion I can muster about this topic that the Senate needs to take 
this up, discuss it, debate it, and vote on it.
  I thank Senator Lieberman for his steadfast leadership over the last 
year. I say to the Senator, you, my friend, will go down in history as 
being one of the Senators who stood up at a time when the country 
needed people to speak out. We turned this war around because of people 
like yourself and Senator McCain but mainly because of the leadership 
of General Petraeus and the men and women in uniform, Ambassador 
Crocker and his team, and the Iraqi people themselves.
  With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 20 
minutes in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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