Steve Pearce: “I would note that during this week we were allowed and privileged to hear the Deputy National Security Adviser. He…”

“I would note that during this week we were allowed and privileged to hear the Deputy National Security Adviser. He commented that much of Iraq is still very stable. Always when the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. McCotter) and I were in Iraq at the end of October and the first of November, it appeared that about 75 percent of the country was very stable, that there were areas of difficulty in Fallujah, Mosul, that there were areas of problems but that most of the country was doing exactly what the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. McCotter) said. People were trying to live normal lives. As we drove up and down the highways, it was obvious that we were Americans. We had American flags on the convoy. We had armored vehicles. We were in armored vehicles, and yet there were no signs of obvious dislike or distrust of the Americans. People just seemed to be living their lives. Occasionally we would give waves. No overtly aggressive actions were taken toward us. Small kids sometimes waved and gave us the thumbs up.”