Recognizing the Good Work of Ed and Mary Ettel

Floor Speech

RECOGNIZING THE GOOD WORK OF ED AND MARY ETTEL -- (Senate - November 06, 2007)

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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I join my colleagues from Georgia, Senators CHAMBLISS and ISAKSON, in talking about the news from Iraq. It is important as we discuss the challenges we still face and that the Iraqi people still face in Iraq to talk about the complete picture. Unfortunately, while we have heard much of violence in Iraq, and the challenges that face us, we have not heard enough about the successes the American military and our Iraqi allies are meeting with in that country.

It wasn't that long ago that the surge General Petraeus, the counterinsurgency strategy that he is the architect of and which he has executed, was called a failure on the floor of the Senate. It is ironic, looking back, as sometimes it is helpful to go back and learn from history--and you do not have to go back very far, actually, just the summer and the spring of this year--when leaders on the other side of the aisle called the surge a failure.

The most ironic part of it is that General Petraeus, the commander of the multinational forces in Iraq at the time, said: We have not even started the surge yet, so let me have a few months.

Well, General Petraeus has now had a few months, and the surge has now had an opportunity to make a difference. In fact, there is much positive news to report. I have to think the biggest mistake the naysayers have made is to bet against the men and women of the U.S. military. That is always a mistake, because the American military men and women have demonstrated they can accomplish the goals they set out to do, and they are making a tremendous difference in Iraq in eliminating terrorist strongholds, as we continue to train the Iraqi military to take our place.

As I have always said, we all want to bring our troops home. The question is, are we going to bring our troops home based on conditions on the ground and the Iraqis' ability to secure and stabilize their own country or are we going to do it regardless of the consequences in a way that will create the potential for a failed state in Iraq, another terrorist haven, and encourage our sworn enemies in Iran and elsewhere, embolden them to think that America cannot be trusted and America will turn its back on our allies?

In May, one of our senior colleagues said the surge was supposed to bring stability essential to political reconciliation and economic reconstruction. But he said at the time: It has not and it will not. One short month later, the majority leader and the Speaker of the House, in a letter to the President, wrote: As many had foreseen, the escalation has failed to produce the intended results. The increase in U.S. forces has had little impact in curbing the violence or fostering political reconciliation.

We even bore witness to atrocious ads run by organizations such as moveon.org slandering General Petraeus before he even had a chance to come here and to report on the status of the surge in September.

Well, the numbers do not lie, to the dismay of many Americans. Some of my colleagues have chosen to conveniently gloss over and try to explain away the progress that has been made by General Petraeus's counterinsurgency strategy. Far from being a simple increase in troops, we learned General Petraeus's strategy was a new way to attack the enemy in Iraq, that is, utilize support from both local Iraqi citizens and tribal leaders to form an offensive against insurgent and terrorist groups, and the strategy has met with a resounding success.

It has become a common story, but one worth repeating, that Al Anbar Province, a Sunni stronghold, was virtually overrun and lost to American and Iraqi forces, because al-Qaida basically had its way with that region, had terrorized the people so much that they would not stand up and fight them and basically were being held as victims of terror.

Now the so-called Anbar awakening has occurred. Tribal leaders have come forward and volunteered their people to serve in the Iraqi police force and the Iraqi security forces. Now Al Anbar Province has essentially been rid of organized al-Qaida strongholds.

The Washington Post editorial page on October 14 recognized the decreased violence in Iraq and noted that evidence of a drop in violence in Iraq is becoming hard to dispute. In September, Iraqi civilian deaths were down 52 percent from August, and 77 percent from September. The Iraqi Health Ministry and the Associated Press reported similar results. We are thankful that American casualties are down as well.

Numbers recently released by the Pentagon corroborate the progress occurring in Iraq in and around Baghdad. The DOD reports terrorist operations are down by 59 percent; operations targeting Iraqi forces more than 60 percent; car bombs are down by 65 percent; casualties due to enemy attacks are down by 77 percent; and violence during this last Ramadan period was the lowest in 3 years.

But perhaps the most convincing evidence that things, good things, are happening in Iraq, is the fact that the Iraqi people are beginning to move back into areas they had previously left behind, hopeless that peace and security could ever be accomplished. According to recent news reports, even cab drivers are feeling it is safer to drive around Baghdad neighborhoods where sectarian violence once made it impossible for them to enter.

But perhaps the most telling story of increased security in Baghdad is one told by the Iraqi people themselves.

According to an Associated Press article from this past weekend, thousands of Iraqi refugees who previously fled their homes in Iraq for the relative safety of neighboring Syria have now returned to their home country. While it is easy for some skeptics to second-guess numbers and statistics pertaining to the security situation in Iraq, it is nearly impossible to ignore the fact that thousands of Iraqis who not long ago were living as refugees in a foreign country now feel safe enough to come home. This reversal of refugee trends clearly indicates that there are good things happening in Iraq and around Baghdad.

The AP reports that ``In a dramatic turnaround, more than 3,000 Iraqi families driven out of their Baghdad neighborhoods have returned to their homes in the past three months as sectarian violence has dropped.'' The article goes on to quote one refugee who returned home to his neighborhood of Khadra. ``In Khadra,'' he said, ``about 15 families have returned from Syria.'' He said, ``I've called friends and family still there and told them it's safe to come home.''

Where there was once widespread fear among Iraqi citizens, we are now seeing something new--hope, hope for a better and safer future. Nothing confirms this more than the return of refugees and their testimony that it is becoming safer in Iraq. While not yet safe, no one is saying the job has been completed, but surely an honest, objective appraisal would acknowledge the improvements in the security situation as demonstrated not only by these statistics but by testimonials from Iraqis themselves.

These heartwarming accounts of families reuniting in neighborhoods, which not long ago had been written off as hopeless, and businesses opening their doors are important lessons for us all. The strategy employed by General Petraeus has worked and is continuing to work. The efforts of our military men and women who have put their hearts and souls into this mission are now paying dividends and producing results.

These security gains are not a fluke. What we are seeing is a direct result of a carefully designed strategy which includes ramped-up counterinsurgency operations, increased efforts to foster cooperation and reconciliation among local tribes, and our continued backing of the hard work of the American military and support for their families.

As we are presented with funding requests by the Pentagon to bring about a stable and peaceful Iraq, we are ensuring that our soldiers have the resources they need to bring peace and stability to a tumultuous land. My hope is we will not use the funding request from the Pentagon for continued support for our troops as another political football, as it has been used in the past, particularly in the face of such hopeful and promising news for which I would expect we would be grateful and thank our men and women in uniform and their families who have sacrificed so much to help bring this about, along with our Iraqi allies.

General Petraeus told reporters this past weekend:

In general, we think that there are no al-Qaeda strongholds at this point.

While he was quick to remind us that they are still a potent threat, his assessment of the progress in Iraq can be nothing but reassuring. I shudder to think of what would have happened had we listened to the naysayers months ago who said we have to withdraw all our troops, even before the surge was fully implemented. So far, we have voted 59 times on Iraq-related resolutions, most of which are nonbinding sense-of-the-Senate resolutions; 59 times we have voted even before the surge had a chance to be implemented. Now we see what a mistake it is to bet against the men and women of the U.S. military. Thank goodness those resolutions were not successful, and thank goodness our American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, and Coast Guard were able to carry out this new plan under the leadership of General Petraeus. We now see at least some hope in a land where hope was in short supply.

Although many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle prejudged the surge strategy and continue to oppose our efforts in Iraq, some of whom call even today for cutting off funds to support our troops, we see now substantial evidence of progress. It is my continued hope these positive developments may yet change the tone of the national dialog on the global war on terror, including the campaign in Iraq. It is time for all Members of this body to take an objective look not through a political lens, not through a lens which sees only the next general election, but to look objectively at what our troops are accomplishing in Iraq. Instead of focusing only on the challenges, we should at least be honest enough to acknowledge the accomplishments, not the least of which are the indisputable gains in security made through their sacrifices.

I, for one, am proud to applaud the undeniable achievements of our troops in Iraq. Their hard work and tireless dedication have reminded us that a stable and peaceful Iraq is within reach. It is my fervent hope that my colleagues will join me in acknowledging and honoring the successes achieved by our military personnel and renew their support for them, their commander, and the counterinsurgency strategy that is bearing fruit and to always remember their families at home who wait for their loved one to return as soon as our mission is accomplished.

I yield the floor.

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