If the Iraqis make progress, we leave. If they don't, we leave. This is not a choice. It is a mandate for defeat that al Qaeda desperately wants.
Mitch McConnell: “If the Iraqis make progress, we leave. If they don't, we leave. This is not a choice. It is a mandate for defeat that al…”
On the recordApril 25, 2007
Source
transcripts.cnn.comEditor's note · Context
Senate Minority Leader McConnell criticizes the proposed withdrawal timeline and frames it as a defeatist strategy.
Share
More from Mitch McConnell
Jul 28, 2026
There’s no place I’d rather be on the first Saturday in August than with the good people of western Kentucky, feasting on pork and mutton.
Jul 28, 2026
When I first attended forty-two years ago, Fancy Farm was a pretty lonely place to be a Republican,” McConnell said. “But, my, how times have changed. Today, western Kentucky is a conservative Republican sea of red. So I hate that I’ll…
Aug 7, 2026
And I’ll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business.
Aug 7, 2026
On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period.





