Political Quotes

“recently I returned from Iraq where I visited Tikrit, Baghdad, Bamadi, and Balad with three of my congressional colleagues. We had the opportunity to meet with the commanding officers and troops on each location. On the floor of the Senate I spoke to you about witnessing firsthand some of the progress being made. Since I have seen so little coverage of that progress, I think progress bears repeating. The new plan, the counterinsurgency plan, is showing initial signs of progress. Violence in al-Qaim, Haditha, Hit, Ramadi, and Falluja has dramatically decreased due to local leaders now siding with coalition forces pursuing al-Qaida in Iraq. In Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi security forces are clearing and holding some of the most dangerous areas, and sectarian violence has decreased. I was especially impressed with the successes in Ramadi, where only a few months ago some were claiming it lost forever, and al-Qaida said it was going to establish its headquarters there. In April, attacks in Ramadi decreased by 74 percent. All 23 tribal areas in Ramadi are cooperating with U.S. forces to fight al-Qaida militants, 263 weapons caches were discovered in the preceding 3 months, and Iraqis are volunteering by the thousands to join the Army and local police force. I am disappointed this progress has not been widely covered by the media in the United States. In fact, the only TV coverage I have seen was a 60-second clip by Nick Johnson of CNN, who did an excellent job.…”