Jon Kyl: “I wish to address recent changes in the situation in Iraq and the possibility that resolutions of disapproval to the…”

“I wish to address recent changes in the situation in Iraq and the possibility that resolutions of disapproval to the President's new strategy will be offered in the near future--a possibility which I believe would be very dangerous to the success of our military efforts. I will make three points this afternoon. The first is that it is important for us to give the newly announced strategy of the President an opportunity to succeed. That makes sense not only because everyone recognized that the President needed to announce a new strategy--he has done that, and it seems to me he should be accorded that courtesy--but also because, from a military standpoint, it is the only thing that makes sense. The key to the new strategy announced by the President is not the addition of new troops. We have had far more in terms of numbers of troops in Iraq than the increase that will be provided by this latest plan. No, the primary change in the strategy is the actions of the Iraqi Government--in particular, Prime Minister al-Maliki's commitment to begin doing things we wanted him to do a long time ago but which he was unwilling to do--to hold people after being arrested rather than releasing them on the streets, to allow curfews and checkpoints to work, to allow the control of the Mahdi army, which is under the leadership of Sadr, the Shiite leader in Iraq, who has confronted al-Maliki and his government.”