Contact: Brian Robinson 202-225-5901

Washington, Sep 10, 2007 - “The reports today from Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker weren’t packed with surprises. In fact, their testimony demonstrates that the increase in troops over the past three months has worked the way we thought it would: It’s decreased the levels of violence across Iraq, it’s increased the safety of neighborhoods in Baghdad and elsewhere throughout the country, and it’s allowed time for slow but steady progress for Iraq’s security forces to grow and train. The reports also show our efforts have worked in ways that we didn’t fully anticipate: We’re increasingly winning hearts and minds in areas of Iraq that were so hostile to coalition forces just one year ago as to be considered lost causes. Now, we’re making progress in regions once fully controlled by al-Qaida in Iraq. Tribes and former Sunni insurgents are turning on al-Qaida, siding with U.S. forces, providing our forces with useful intelligence and many of them are joining the police force or the Iraqi military. We’re also taking on Shiite militias backed by Iran, which previously had the protection of the government.

“Obviously, there is progress on the military front but less so on the political front. I agree with Ambassador Crocker’s assessment that the Iraqi government is going in the right direction but not by much and that we will continue to see uneven progress and setbacks. I was glad to hear the ambassador back up reports that I have heard that the greatest leaps forward are happening at the local government level. We need to keep the slow pace of political progress in context. The Iraqi democracy is a few years old and the government has to bring together factions that have fought each other longer than our nation has been in existence. The major issues that divide the Iraqi parliament have far-reaching consequences. Such high-stakes issues would be equally difficult to pass in this Congress. I don’t think we’re in the best position to lecture any other government about being more efficient and getting along better. Nevertheless, I’m disappointed that the Iraqi government hasn’t performed better.

“Today’s testimony definitely puts the ‘Out of Iraq’ voices on the defensive. MoveOn’s attack on Gen. Petraeus has backfired because it was so over the top that it turned off the American public. No one thinks that things in Iraq are perfect; we need dramatic improvements. But there’s no one who could look at today’s balanced reports and come away thinking we should withdraw quickly. Pulling out American troops in large numbers in the short run would sacrifice the progress that has been made and it would create a power vacuum that al-Qaida and Iran would quickly fill. Slow and steady progress will lead to slow and steady redeployment of American troops. We all want our troops home, but we must do it with honor and in the safest way possible.”