Lynn C. Woolsey: “as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I was pleased to participate in a joint hearing that took testimony from…”

“as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I was pleased to participate in a joint hearing that took testimony from General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker. It was supposed to be a turning point in the occupation of Iraq. The purpose of this hearing was to get a report from our military and diplomatic leaders about the record of the so-called surge or escalation in Iraq. Let's first look at what the main purpose of the escalation really was. According to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Michael Mullen, the surge was to give space for political reconciliation. I quote him here: ``Security is critical to providing the Government of Iraq the breathing space it needs to work toward political national reconciliation and economic growth. Barring that, no amount of troops in no amount of time will make much of a difference.'' The President celebrates that there has been a short-term downward trend in violence. Of course that would happen. When we put our fighting men and women, the best in the world, on the ground in greater and greater numbers, of course they will bring some form of order. But let's be realistic. This is not sustainable. We cannot keep the same number of troops for very much longer. We simply do not have the resources to do so, and our troops should not have such a task. So, yes, they are temporarily keeping a lid on the uprising and attacks.…”