President's Remarks Signal Strong Resolve in Iraq

PRESIDENT'S REMARKS SIGNAL STRONG RESOLVE IN IRAQ

WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, made the following statement Tuesday regarding the President's press conference, and the future of Iraq:

"The President's remarks this evening send a signal of strong resolve, both to those who oppose democracy in Iraq and those who join us in supporting liberty for a nation long held in tyranny. The path ahead in Iraq will continue to be difficult, but moving from decades of oppression to a future of freedom is a difficult task requiring leadership, not the uncertainty of political whim. Political platitudes won't bring stability to Iraq. Leadership and resolve will.

"Some forget that it was only a year ago when the nation suffered under the heel of a tyrant, Democracy was a foreign concept and Hussein's sadistic whims were law. Yet despite this fact, some in America want to view Iraq entirely through the lens of election year politics. This campaign rhetoric is short-sighted: The gains made since the liberation will be simply unsustainable if the coalition leaves Iraq at the mercy of insurgents and undemocratic clerics.

"Further, as the President said, providing stability in Iraq removes yet another home base for terrorists. And a free, democratic Iraq will move us forward in the war on terror, and stand as a powerful example to those in surrounding nations yearning for freedom in their own nation.

"As to questions about the PDB, contrary to earlier reporting and the claims of world-class second guessers, my reading of the document shows neither a time nor target for the speculative warnings in the briefing. Even through the lens of hindsight, nothing in the briefing could or should have led to a specific action that would have prevented the tragedy of 9/11. To suggest otherwise, to claim that this or previous administrations might have done something to stop this unfathomable horror but chose not to is specious and insulting.

"It is important to place responsibility for 9/11 where it lies: with al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden."