Developments in Iraq and Afghanistan

Floor Speech

Madam President, I wish to talk about the global war on terror here for the next few minutes, and to recount some very good progress we happen to be making in Iraq and that the Iraqis appear to be making. I realize that because the news is not as bad as it once was, it has now fallen off the front page of the newspaper. Yet I think it is very important not only to our national security but because we are being asked to support our men and women in uniform in a variety of ways that we keep close track of the developments occurring both in Afghanistan and in Iraq. That is the subject of my comments.

First, I acknowledge a report from the Associated Press indicating that one of al-Qaida's top commanders in Afghanistan, and a key liaison of the Taliban, Abu Laith al-Libi, was apparently killed in military action at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Reports indicate he is actually the fourth person in command of the al-Qaida and the Taliban, right after Osama bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, and Mullah Omar, demonstrating that we continue to take the fight on the offensive against the very people who are responsible for perpetrating the murder of 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001.

I believe one of the reasons why we have not had a repetition of that horrific day on our own soil is because of the skill of our men and women in uniform, the weapons we have equipped them with, and the intelligence they have been able to gather that allows us to detect and deter terrorist activities not only on our soil but in Afghanistan against ours and allied troops, as well as Iraq. I think that is a bit of good news that we ought to acknowledge.

Secondly, let me say the reason I wanted to come to the floor was precipitated by my visit in January to both Afghanistan and Iraq, where I had a chance to not only meet with Texas troops who are fighting in both of those countries but also military commanders from my State and across the United States, and to learn more as a Senator and member of the Armed Services Committee about the progress in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

I was pleased to meet with GEN Raymond Odierno, from Fort Hood, TX, who is basically the second in command for General Petraeus, head of Multinational Forces, and who I know will be returning, along with many Texans, to Fort Hood in February, much to his family's pleasure. I know after all the time General Odierno has spent in Iraq, his family will be glad he is coming home, and particularly after the good news that was reported to me there and that I want to summarize here.

The good news is that, as General Odierno said in a story in the Washington Post, reported today, we are going to be bringing back about 40,000 troops from the height of the surge until next summer, and then have what General Odierno called a strategic pause to sort of assess the stability of the military and security environment in Iraq. Of course, the hope is always that we can continue to bring more and more troops home, but as I heard in Iraq over and over, as the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down. That was the plan all along. But again, good news.

General Odierno, in this article, was asked: Do you consider Iraq fragile? We have heard that phrase used over and over. While we have been successful, and the Iraqis have been successful, the conditions are still somewhat fragile. General Odierno was quoted in this article as saying: I think if we move forward with operational patience, it isn't that fragile. But he continued. I think if we leave tomorrow, it would be very fragile--which underscores, to my way of thinking, the importance of us drawing down our troops based on conditions on the ground and not based on some arbitrary or political timetable. If we did that, if we drew the troops down in a precipitous fashion based on some deadline we impose, without regard to circumstances on the ground, in General Odierno's terms, that would create a fragile security situation and perhaps even reverse the significant gains that have been made.

We see another bit of good news, and this is in the Mideast Stars and Stripes today, that an operation led by Iraqi forces and supported by American troops has reopened the main highway linking Baghdad and Dyala Province after 16 months of being in insurgents' hands. That is good news, and another reversal for al-Qaida and the insurgency in Iraq.

This chart indicates the locations of al-Qaida in Iraq in December 2006 and the battle of Baghdad that led to the actual surge. You will see, Madam President, on my left here--to your right--the improvements demonstrated by the shrinking of the red areas, which indicates the presence of al-Qaida in Iraq in December of 2007. This is presurge; this is postsurge. Not only is this a surge of American troops, but during the same period of time in which we surged additional American troops, there were an additional 100,000 Iraqi policemen and military recruited and trained, as well as some 70,000 citizens in these concerned local citizen councils.

We have heard about the Anbar awakening, where people who had thrown their cause in with al-Qaida had finally gotten tired of their barbaric practices and their treachery and had begun to cooperate with Americans and Iraqi forces. That has led to what I would call--some have called--a concerned local citizens council. I have told people it reminds me of a neighborhood watch on steroids. What it does is provide intelligence as to the locations of improvised explosive devices, and perhaps insurgent or terrorist activity, which has allowed our troops and the Iraqi troops to work with the local citizens to help shrink the influence of al-Qaida in Iraq, as indicated by the comparison between this chart on my right in December of 2006, presurge, and postsurge 2007, in December. So that is obviously good news.

We also have four snapshots of sectarian violence in the city of Baghdad. You will recall that at one point we heard from some Members on the floor that the Iraqis were on the verge of a civil war because of the ethnosectarian violence. You will see here that from December 2006, as indicated by the yellow and red, how much of Baghdad was consumed by sectarian violence. This, of course, had all along been the aim of al-Qaida, to incite the sectarian hatred and violence in a way that would consume Iraq. And we saw, in December 2006, that was unfortunately enormously successful. But you can see from December 2006 to December 2007, presurge to postsurge, how these areas of yellow activity are shrunk, and virtually none of the red, the highly intensive sectarian violence, is occurring.

So here we see, in a very remarkable contrast from presurge and postsurge, a reduction in ethnosectarian violence, a dramatic improvement, and perhaps best evidenced by the fact that many refugees are moving back from other places to their homes in these areas.

Finally, perhaps most demonstrative of our success is these charts which indicate an overall drop in attack trends. This chart starts in December of 2006 and ends in December 2007, indicating a tremendous reduction--by about two-thirds--in the number of overall attacks in Iraq. Again, a significant improvement.

I think those are all the charts I have, but let me say that I also acknowledge the tremendous success the Iraqis have made when it comes to political reconciliation. That is another thing that, of course, we all had hoped for. In our meetings with Iraqi leaders--Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds--we said: Congratulations on the success of this surge of Iraqis and multinational forces, leading to an improved security situation. But Senator Coleman and Senator Isakson and I, in our visit there, told Iraqi leaders: Now you need to continue your political surge, now that the security situation has improved considerably.

We know as a result of the improved security situation that the Iraqis have now begun a sort of political reconciliation, both at the local, or tribal, level and at the provincial level, which has led to greater security, but also at the national level. They have passed, finally, one of the benchmark pieces of legislation that many Members of Congress had urged them to pass from time to time, known as the debaathification reforms. The Iraqi Council representatives passed what they called the accountability and justice law, which represents a significant step forward in the political reconciliation between the various sects and bringing back into the Government, back into society, some of the baathists who are at the local level--after they have been vetted to make sure they are no longer a threat. Because of Saddam Hussein's influence, people could not teach in schools, could not engage in civil life unless they were a member of the Baath party. Well, thanks to the Iraqi Council of Representatives, they now have an opportunity to reengage in civic life in Iraq in a way that is very important.

We also know the Iraqi leaders have passed a budget and an important pension law. Recently, Iraqi health care providers gathered in Baghdad for a 2-day medical conference, the first of its kind in more than 15 years.

Madam President, I know we have other colleagues wishing to speak here on the floor, and I am about through with my comments, but I think it is worth reminding ourselves and reminding the American people what the impact has been of this surge of American and Iraqi forces thanks to the counterinsurgency strategy devised and deployed by GEN David Petraeus. I had an opportunity to see General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker in Baghdad. They are pleased with the success they have seen, both militarily and from a diplomatic perspective. But they obviously recognize that things still need to continue on the trend toward improved relations, and the Iraqis need to continue their political reconciliation.

I think it is very important, as the story of Iraq tends to go from the front page to perhaps the middle of the newspaper, or from the top of the evening news into perhaps not even being the subject of a news story, that we recall for ourselves and for all Americans the contributions our brave men and women in uniform have made.

This will not only protect our vital national security interests but make sure other people across the world, in places such as Afghanistan and Iraq, can enjoy the blessings of liberty. To me that has been one of the most noble things America has continued to contribute, even to people whom our young troops have not met, to be able to deliver to them the opportunity to live in peace and to achieve their potential.

To me, that is one of the greatest things about this country of ours, that people will put themselves in harm's way, they will risk death itself or serious injury to help other people enjoy those blessings of liberty.

I yield the floor.

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