Roger Wicker: “what is the status of our effort in Iraq today, and where do we go from here? Some of my friends on the other side of…”

“what is the status of our effort in Iraq today, and where do we go from here? Some of my friends on the other side of the aisle see the situation getting worse and worse. I see real progress. I see three successful elections, I see the completion of a national unity government, and I see the elimination of Abu Musab al Zarqawi. But more than anything else, Mr. Speaker, it is the returning troops I talk to who convince me that our mission is succeeding and that their sacrifice is accomplishing a valuable service for our effort and for our people. I haven't surveyed many seventh graders, but the soldiers I see express support for what we are doing and frustration over the coverage they see in the media. Now, as to the question of where we go from here, two things are certain: Iraq is ground zero in our global war on terror. And the decisions we make will affect U.S. credibility for decades to come. Al Qaeda attacked our homeland unprovoked on 9/11, and it is that same al Qaeda we fight today in Iraq. We must defeat them there and anywhere else until their terrorist threat has ended. But make no mistake, this is the same enemy that demolished the World Trade Center and attacked the Pentagon. Another argument we have heard today is that this war was a mistake to begin with; that it was unnecessary; that it was in fact based on a lie. This view, of course, ignores the fact that intelligence agencies not only in the U.S.…”