SENATOR HUTCHISON DISCUSSES THE WAR IN IRAQ

Mr. President, I rise today to speak about General Petraeus' testimony. I was able to watch a little bit of it before I came over here. I was beginning to see, of course, the questioning from the Armed Services Committee. I think it is so important that we look at the big picture and what General Petraeus is saying. Also, of course, we have Ambassador Crocker who is doing a terrific job over there.

I was there at the end of February, just 6 weeks ago. I met with both of them. But what I saw was an incredible change from the other time I had been in Iraq. As General Petraeus said himself, from June 2007 through February 2008 deaths from ethno-sectarian violence in Bagdad have fallen 90 percent. American casualties have fallen sharply, down by 70 percent. In the last year, the number of high-profile attacks have fallen by 50 percent.

All of us believe one American death is not worth the price we would pay if we had a choice. But every one of those who are there understand our mission and how important it is. Every one of those with whom I have met, both the people who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan and the families of those who have lost loved ones, say: Do not leave. Do not leave without a victory, without seeing through the successes that we have gained.

They understand this mission. Unfortunately, it does not seem that the majority in the Congress see it as those who are on the ground and who have suffered the most do. As recently as February, the Senate leadership was trying to stop the surge by requiring an immediate and arbitrary withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq when we didn't even have the results. Yet those of us who have been there recently have seen the results.

I went to a police station with our embedded forces and to a security regional center with embedded forces. I did that because I was very concerned. I wanted to see it myself. I was very pleased with the fact that our troops embedded there were causing the Iraqis to come forward and do more and help us.

The Sons of Iraq, which are now 91,000 strong, are serving as neighborhood watches. They are manning the checkpoints. They are taking us to the weapons caches. Do you know that, since the beginning of this year, we have found, because of the Sons of Iraq's cooperation, more weapons than we discovered in all of 2006? We are making progress. Mr. President, 21,000 of the Sons of Iraq have now been accepted into security forces or government work. It is amazing that we are seeing military gains, and we are seeing political gains. It is not as fast as we would like to see it, of course, but it is progress. It is in the right direction.

The consequences of leaving precipitously are consequences that would be unthinkable. People talk about the cost of Iraq, the cost of the war on terror, as if the costs are prohibitive. The costs are high. But the cost of leaving and letting al-Qaida have a base in Iraq are much more expensive. We are talking about 9/11 costing over $1 trillion, if you put it in monetary terms, which I don't think we should--this is not the thing that we should even be considering. We should be supporting our troops, and we should be supporting the effort that would require complete success for our country. This is the United States of America.

I met with the Vets for Freedom who just met by Senator Bond as well. They are the patriots who have been there, who know what it is like, and who are saying stay and fight and win. It is the right thing for the United States of America to do.

I yield the floor.

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