Political Quotes

“I wish to speak to that amendment, if I could. First, let me stipulate I have said publicly, and believe in my heart, GEN David Petraeus is an honorable man who has served this country with distinction. It has been my good fortune to meet with him in Iraq on several occasions, 2 rac{1}{2} ext{ years ago, when his job was an important job in training the Iraqi Army, to prepare it to take over for American soldiers. Most recently, in August, I met with General Petraeus in Baghdad for 3 hours, and with Ambassador Crocker, over dinner. We had a lengthy conversation about the surge, the situation in Iraq. I never for 1 minute questioned General Petraeus's patriotism, his competence, and his record of serving America. That is something I am happy to stipulate for the record and I believe is beyond question and reproach. I will also tell you I voted for General Petraeus to be head of our military effort in Iraq and did so without reservation. I believe he is extraordinarily competent as a military leader. There are no questions to be raised about that. Yesterday, before a joint session of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, General Petraeus appeared with Ambassador Crocker. The morning news reports suggest virtually every single Member of Congress from both sides of the aisle preceded their remarks about General Petraeus's testimony by giving credit and tribute to this man for his service to our Nation.”