John Cornyn: “I join my colleagues from Georgia, Senators Chambliss and Isakson, in talking about the news from Iraq. It is important…”

“I join my colleagues from Georgia, Senators Chambliss and Isakson, in talking about the news from Iraq. It is important as we discuss the challenges we still face and that the Iraqi people still face in Iraq to talk about the complete picture. Unfortunately, while we have heard much of violence in Iraq, and the challenges that face us, we have not heard enough about the successes the American military and our Iraqi allies are meeting with in that country. It wasn't that long ago that the surge General Petraeus, the counterinsurgency strategy that he is the architect of and which he has executed, was called a failure on the floor of the Senate. It is ironic, looking back, as sometimes it is helpful to go back and learn from history--and you do not have to go back very far, actually, just the summer and the spring of this year--when leaders on the other side of the aisle called the surge a failure. The most ironic part of it is that General Petraeus, the commander of the multinational forces in Iraq at the time, said: We have not even started the surge yet, so let me have a few months. Well, General Petraeus has now had a few months, and the surge has now had an opportunity to make a difference. In fact, there is much positive news to report. I have to think the biggest mistake the naysayers have made is to bet against the men and women of the U.S. military.”