Iraq

Floor Speech

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the President today announced his plans to transition the mission of our military in Iraq from combat to an advisory and assistance mission. For context, it is worth remembering that prior to the full deployment of this force, some Democrats were already declaring the surge the President is referring to today as a complete failure.

But thanks to the vision and the determination of General Petraeus, General McChrystal, and Ambassador Crocker, the counterinsurgency strategy was allowed to take root and to succeed. The population was protected, al-Qaida in Iraq was weakened, and, crucially, our political relationship with the Maliki government grew stronger.

None of this was easy. Between that brave decision to execute a counterinsurgency strategy, the surge, and the Anbar awakening, we had to prevail on many votes on timelines for withdrawal and fights over whether we would ever fund ongoing combat operations--all of which allowed for the strategic framework agreement and the security agreement between the U.S. and Iraqi Governments--by the way, executed in the previous administration--that outlined drawdown of forces and the transition of mission the President announced today. Of course, the Iraqis must work through the formation of the next government and continue to combat insurgents.

There are valuable lessons in all of this as General Petraeus works to build the Afghan security forces and defeat the Taliban. The surge in Iraq helped create the conditions that resulted in the security agreement between our two countries, which took a lot of hard work, and back in 2007, some--including the current President and Vice President--thought it could not be achieved. The credit, of course, goes to General Petraeus, General Odierno, our fighting forces, Ambassador Crocker, and our Iraqi partners. It is their sacrifice we should remember today.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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