Christopher Shays: “The commander of the Army's 101st Airborne Division in Iraq, Major General Petraeus, likes to remind Congressional…”

“The commander of the Army's 101st Airborne Division in Iraq, Major General Petraeus, likes to remind Congressional visitors that money is ammunition in the battle to stabilize Iraq: money to reopen the cement factory outside Mosul, money to buy ice and food from local merchants, money to productively employ the now-idle hands of former Iraqi Army officers, money for 1,000 other local projects that capitalize on the boundless potential of the Iraqi people and arm them to defeat their most entrenched, insidious enemies, powerlessness and despair. This bill provides the ammunition needed to wage and win the next critical battle in the war against terrorism and oppression in Iraq. Building on the administration's original request, the committee has met our first obligation, to arm and equip U.S. warfighters to prevail in this complex mission while fueling construction of a viable, sustainable civil society in Iraq. During two trips to Iraq since April, I saw the strength and courage of our forces as they worked alongside Iraqis rebuilding schools by day and risking their lives patrolling those same streets by night. The dedicated men and women of our Armed Forces know their quickest route home goes through as many markets as minefields, and that their victory over tyranny will be secured as soon as Iraqis are running their own democratic nation. We are stewards of Iraqi sovereignty.”