Jack Reed: “just a few days ago I had the privilege of traveling, with Senator Warner and Senator Levin, and other colleagues, to…”

“just a few days ago I had the privilege of traveling, with Senator Warner and Senator Levin, and other colleagues, to Iraq. I wish to comment upon my observations of that trip in the context of this Defense appropriations bill. After the most stunning victory in the annals of military history, the fighting and dying in Iraq goes on. The war is not over. It has changed its character. Conventional warfare of major formations against major formations has yielded to hit-and-run attacks against our troops. We are in a tenuous moment where the momentum of the battle has shifted from our coalition forces and may shift dramatically to opposition forces in Iraq. We are being opposed by groups of Baathist diehards, Islamic fundamentalists, and criminals. Although this resistance, until recently, appeared to be uncoordinated and spasmodic, there are strong signs emerging that organizations are beginning to coalesce and we are facing a much more serious threat. Just today, in Iraq, a manned portable air defense missile was fired at an American aircraft over Baghdad International Airport, signaling a major escalation of the capabilities of our opponents and the ability of these opponents to interfere with our occupation forces in a significant way. Another American soldier died. The mayor of an Iraqi city was gunned down. Indeed, today General Abizaid indicated that we are facing a classical guerrilla-type war situation.”