Barbara Mikulski: “I rise as a supporter of the Webb amendment. I want to compliment the Senator from Virginia for offering that amendment.…”

“I rise as a supporter of the Webb amendment. I want to compliment the Senator from Virginia for offering that amendment. Although he is a freshman Senator, he certainly is no stranger to war a combat veteran, a warrior's warrior, and he is fully aware of the stresses the men and our military are facing along with their families. I support the Webb amendment, and I support it for several reasons. One, I want to talk about the surge. I called it an escalation. The escalation was to send more troops to give the Iraqis more time to come up with a political solution. Well, I wish to salute our troops. For those who are on the ground, the basic number, for those who were part of the escalation, we want to support them for doing their duty, and doing their duty so well. I think by every account, regardless of how one feels about the war, one is very proud of the men and women who are part of our military, who have been on the ground, and have been on the job. They have done their part. And that is what the two reports we got last week are, that if you send in more people, the violence will temporarily come down. But what happens when you do not keep that level? Well, that is a point of discussion. Let's go back to why they went. They went this summer, in blazing heat, with blazing guns, to give the Iraqis more time. And what did the Iraqis do while our guys and gals were out there in 100-pound armor, trying to avoid IEDs? The Iraqis took a vacation. More time.”