[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12324]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise today to voice my strong 
support for GEN David Petraeus to be confirmed as our Nation's top 
military commander in Afghanistan. I want to say I have had a great 
experience with General Petraeus and also watching him from afar. When 
he introduced the concept of the counterinsurgency in Iraq, and 
embedding our troops with Iraqi troops to try to train the Iraqi troops 
to do the security for Iraq as we were leaving, I had grave concerns 
about embedding our troops and the counterinsurgency, because I feared 
for the safety of our troops and troop protection. I did not want to 
publicly ask questions of his judgment or disagree with him, but I did 
ask him to come see me and explain this to me so I would feel more 
comfortable, which he did. He came to my office. He walked me through 
it. He gave me confidence that it could work.
  Then later, when he was in Iraq, and I was taking one of the trips I 
have made to Iraq, the first place that General Petraeus sent me to see 
was the Iraqi police station with our embedded troops. He never said a 
word to me about my questioning of how it would work, but he sent me 
in.
  Later that night I was able to have dinner with him and Ambassador 
Crocker. I said: I know why you sent me to the police station, because 
I had questioned how you were going to protect our troops. I became a 
complete believer in General Petraeus and certainly how they do protect 
our troops as we are also teaching the foreign forces to take on their 
own security.
  So I do have complete confidence in this man. What I do not have 
confidence in is the mission he is being given, because I sense a mixed 
message. I sense a mixed message from the President, and a division in 
what our Members of the Senate are saying, even as they questioned 
General Petraeus yesterday.
  Here is my concern. We know you cannot set a hard and fast deadline 
and say, our troops are leaving no matter what the conditions are, and 
gain the confidence of the people on the ground that you are going to 
see the mission through.
  It seems our mission should be clear, that we are going to prepare 
the Afghans for the security of their country, and also assure that the 
Taliban and al-Qaida cannot get a stronghold that would allow the 
export of terrorism to America and other freedom-loving countries in 
the world. That should be the clear mission.
  I believe that is the mission General Petraeus understands, and I 
think that is what President Obama is saying. But my concern is this 
questioning of General Petraeus by members of the Armed Services 
Committee about the withdrawal date.
  The President has said firmly the withdrawal is going to be July of 
next year. General Petraeus is very careful in every answer that he 
makes to say, conditions on the ground will dictate when we withdraw. 
July is the date. We acknowledge that, he says. But it will also depend 
on conditions on the ground.
  I hope we will have a united view in the Senate, a united view in the 
House of Representatives, and the President acknowledging that we must 
have the confidence of the people on the ground in Afghanistan and also 
the confidence of the enemy, the Taliban, and al-Qaida, that we are not 
going to leave in July if there are not conditions on the ground for 
the Afghans to repel the evil forces of the Taliban and al-Qaida.
  As we vote today on the confirmation of General Petraeus, I am voting 
for this general because I believe in him. I believe in his creativity. 
I believe in his judgment. I want to make sure he has everything he 
needs to do the job we are asking him to do. He has proven he can do 
the tough jobs.
  He changed the atmosphere in Iraq and he did it the right way. He 
protected our forces as he was doing it. So we must assure that we give 
him the same level of confidence and support in Afghanistan to do the 
job there, because it is clear that the place where al-Qaida and the 
Taliban are operating from is that area of Pakistan and Afghanistan, 
and we cannot allow them to strengthen their efforts to be able to 
export terrorism to our country again.
  At the same time, we have got to make sure there is not a bull's-eye 
on the back of our troops in Afghanistan because the enemy thinks we 
are leaving no matter what. Conditions on the ground are the 
prerequisite. I hope the President has given General Petraeus the level 
of confidence that I feel in him, and that I think our Senate will show 
to him today to do the job as he sees fit, because he is going to have 
the boots on the ground in Afghanistan.
  I have been to Afghanistan, as have most of my colleagues. I know how 
tough it is, the terrain, the type of government they have had 
throughout their centuries, and it is not adaptable easily to our 
concept of governance. So we have to work within a framework that is 
very difficult both geographically as well as in the governance 
structure.
  I am voting for General Petraeus today because I know this man can do 
the job. I hope the President will give him the free rein to do the job 
we are asking him to do, and, in the process, protect our troops and 
protect him as they are doing this very tough job with everything he 
asks us to provide to him to finish this job and make the Afghan people 
say--give them the ability to create their governance in a way that 
works for them and to protect the people of the United States from any 
further terrorist attack.
  That is when we will be able to say ``mission accomplished.'' And 
General Petraeus can do this job. We must give him the backup so he can 
be successful.
  I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEVIN. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call 
be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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