[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2674-2675]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         IRAQ TROOP WITHDRAWAL

  Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in opposition to 
pulling our troops out of Iraq based on political timetables conceived 
in the Senate.
  I have voted against similar measures in the past. I intend to vote 
against them again this week. These bills do nothing more than tie the 
hands of our commanders on the ground while pandering to special 
interests here in the United States--antiwar groups.
  These are the same commanders who are risking their lives daily that 
our mission in Iraq can continue to succeed. And our mission is 
succeeding. General Petraeus is succeeding. Violence in Iraq is at the 
lowest since the insurgency began. Suicide bombings are down 70 
percent. IED attacks have been cut in half.
  The surge is working. Since it began less than a year ago, we have 
succeeded in putting al-Qaida on the run, while rooting out the 
terrorists neighborhood by neighborhood. In return, Iraqis have 
partnered with U.S. troops, forming their own security forces, and 
stabilizing their own neighborhoods. These efforts have served to unite 
torn communities, such as Anbar Province, and pave the way for 
political reconciliation.
  The other side has said for months the surge has failed because it 
has not created an environment for political progress in Iraq. Well, 
they are wrong. The correlation between the surge and security is 
obvious. In the past few weeks, as we continue to see increased 
stability throughout Iraq, the Iraqi Government has made great 
political strides.
  On February 13, the Iraqi Council of Representatives passed three key 
pieces of legislation: An amnesty law, the 2008 budget, and a 
provincial powers law. These political milestones are made possible by 
Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds reaching out to each other and working to 
find solutions that represent all Iraqis.
  This is General Petraeus's counterinsurgency at work. It worked when 
he was commander of the 101st Airborne Division in Mosul, and now it is 
working all across Iraq.
  So I ask my colleagues across the aisle: Why, when you see our 
mission in Iraq is succeeding, and the Iraqi people are making real 
political progress, do you want to pull the rug out from underneath our 
commanders and our troops?
  Last July, the Senate overwhelmingly supported, by a vote of 94 to 3, 
a sense-of-the-Senate amendment stating that it is in our national 
security interests that Iraq not become a failed state and a safe haven 
for terrorists.
  Well, wake up. Cutting and running from Iraq will only benefit the 
terrorists, while jeopardizing our national security and that of the 
Iraqi people.
  Make no mistake, Iraq is the central battleground in our fight in the 
global war on terror. This is not just my opinion. Osama bin Laden has 
called Iraq the ``central front'' in his war against America. He knows 
that the premature withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq will strengthen 
his terrorist organization, enabling him to set up training camps in 
that country.
  Although it has been over 6 years since we have experienced a 
terrorist attack on U.S. soil, we must never forget that there are 
those out there who wish to do us harm on a daily basis. And those who 
wish to do us harm will benefit if we pull out of Iraq and leave a 
failed state behind.
  Al-Qaida and its allies flourish and multiply in the chaos of failed 
States with no rule of law or respect for human rights. Instead of 
debating a cut-and-run strategy in Iraq that has already failed on the 
floor of this Senate four times, we should be focusing

[[Page 2675]]

on how to provide the defenders of our freedom--our commanders and our 
troops--with the necessary tools to complete their mission.
  Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with the new commanding 
general of the 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell, KY. Located on the 
southern border between Kentucky and Tennessee, the Fort Campbell 
community has felt the effects of deployments and casualties.
  Right around 200 soldiers from Fort Campbell have given their lives 
for their country. Thousands of good men and women have spent tours of 
15 months away from their families--some four, some three, others two, 
and some one: tours of 15 or 12 months from the 101st Airborne in Iraq.
  Speaking with the commanding general only reinforced my belief that 
we have some of the finest patriots serving in our Nation's military. 
The brave men and women who answer the call to defend our Nation, and 
the families and communities who support them, are our most valuable 
national asset. I do not want to see their unbelievable efforts in Iraq 
fail. We as a nation have invested too much to hand a big victory to 
al-Qaida in Iraq.
  This political show needs to end.
  In April, General Petraeus will report back to Congress on the state 
of our mission in Iraq. As Senators who voted in support of his 
confirmation, we owe him this opportunity to present his report to us, 
instead of cutting him off at the knees right before his report. We 
should show him the respect of listening to his report. We owe an 
honorable man, who has spent--I want you to remember this--who has 
spent most of the last 5 years away from his family in Iraq to see that 
freedom in America is preserved.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in giving General Petraeus this 
opportunity and opposing these bills.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Nelson of Nebraska). The Senator from 
Maryland is recognized.

                          ____________________