For Immediate Release
September 11, 2007
Media Contact: Ray Yonkura
(202) 225-2676
Jordan Statement On Petraeus/Crocker Testimony
Washington, DC -- Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Urbana) issued the following statement on today’s testimony by General David H. Petraeus and Iraqi Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker to the House Armed Services Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the situation in Iraq:
I was encouraged by the expert comments of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker on military and political progress in Iraq. Through their testimony, members of Congress received a credible, real-time assessment of Coalition successes and the challenges that remain in defeating terrorist elements and stabilizing that nation.
Reports like these, directly from our commanders in the field, provide us the information we need to help ensure that our men and women in uniform have all the resources they need to complete their mission.
Sadly, in the days leading up to this testimony, some Democrat leaders and their supporters accused General Petraeus of misleading Congress--this before his testimony was even delivered. This is the kind of ultra-partisanship that the American people find repulsive. Democrat leaders should denounce these despicable tactics and work together in a bipartisan way to consider today’s report, build on our progress in Iraq, complete our mission, and bring our troops home.
Having visited Iraq earlier this year, I trust the counsel of our field commanders far more than that of politicians in Washington. General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker share my belief that the consequences of failure are exceedingly high both for the region and the world as a whole, and that success in Iraq and the global war on terror is in the best interest of the entire free world.
