Sam Brownback: “we have arrived at a key moment for U.S. policy in Iraq. History recalls Operations Desert Shield and Storm in 1990 and…”

“we have arrived at a key moment for U.S. policy in Iraq. History recalls Operations Desert Shield and Storm in 1990 and 1991. It recalls the no-fly zones we maintained in the 1990s. It recalls the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998. It recalls our sanctions against Saddam Hussein. And when history records Operation Iraqi Freedom, it will remember whether Congress provided the direction necessary to complete the mission or chose to cut it off prematurely. History will judge today's vote. The American people await this vote. The Iraqi people await this vote. Al-Qaida awaits this vote. The surge is now underway. I did not support the surge, but I hope it works. The first reports have been encouraging, but the fog of war remains thick. Over the next few months, we will be able to assess whether the surge is working or not. Now is hardly the time to set a date for retreat. I am not saying we should have an open-ended commitment, but I am saying that our mission over there--and not politics over here--should drive our policy. I know many of my colleagues believe we have nothing to gain by staying. But I believe there is a way forward. Everyone agrees that a political solution is crucial to success. And it turns out that the political solution Iraqis ought to pursue is the most American of all: Federalism. Thankfully, in the early days in America, we did not have the kind of factional violence and terrorism we have seen in Iraq.”