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SENATOR McCAIN STATEMENT ON THE IRAQ FUNDING AMENDMENT
The Armed Forces and the American People deserve better
December 18, 2007
U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today delivered the following statement on the floor of the U.S. Senate regarding the Iraq Funding Amendment to H.R. 2764, the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2008:
“Mr. President, I strongly support the amendment offered by the Republican leader that would deliver vital funding for our troops in Iraq.
“The underlying House-passed bill is not only irresponsive to the facts on the ground in Iraq, it is simply irresponsible. It fails to provide any funding for our troops fighting in Iraq and actually contains an explicit prohibition against the use of funds for Operation Iraqi Freedom. The authors have compiled a bill of some 1400 pages and an even larger joint explanatory statement chock full of unnecessary spending, but they include not a dime for our troops in Iraq.
“Consider, Mr. President, that the bill on the floor today contains $1.6 million for animal vaccines in Greenport, New York, but not a penny for our soldiers in Iraq. $477,000 for Barley Health Food Benefits, but nothing for the troops in Iraq. $846,000 for the Father’s Day Rally Committee of Philadelphia, but not a dime for our sons and daughters who are fighting. We are willing to appropriate $244,000 for bee research in Weslaco, Texas, but not a dollar for our fighting men and women in Baghdad, Kirkuk, and Anbar. It is a sad day indeed when, in the middle of a war this country must win, the Congress provides more funds for bee research than for the brave Americans risking their lives on our behalf.
“For Congress to fail to provide the funds needed by our soldiers in the field is inexcusable under any circumstances – but it is especially disappointing right now, at the very moment when General David Petraeus and his troops are achieving the kind of progress in Iraq that many dismissed as impossible just a few months ago.
“The bill’s proponents seek, I suppose, a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq, regardless of conditions on the ground or the views of our commanders in the field. If that sounds familiar, it should – the majority has thus far engaged in no less than 40 legislative attempts to achieve this misguided outcome. The choice today is simple: do we build upon the clear successes of our current strategy and give General Petraeus and the troops under his command the support they require to complete their mission, or do we ignore the realities and legislate a premature end to our efforts in Iraq, accepting thereby all the terrible consequences that will ensue? The answer, Mr. President, should be also simple.
“I had the privilege of spending Thanksgiving with our troops in Iraq and, on this trip, I saw and heard firsthand about the remarkable transformation that these brave men and women in uniform have brought about this year. After nearly four years of mismanaged war, our military, in cooperation with the Iraqi security forces, has made significant gains under the new American counterinsurgency strategy – the so-called ‘surge.’
“Overall violence in Iraq has fallen to its lowest levels since the first year of the invasion. Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the second in command in Iraq, said this week that this improvement is due to the increase in American troops and better-trained Iraqi forces. Improvised explosive device (IED) blasts, the foremost source of U.S. combat deaths, now occur at a rate lower than any point since September 2004. Just this week, Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, the commander for Baghdad, stated that attacks in Baghdad have fallen nearly 80 percent since November 2006, murders in Baghdad province are down by some 90 percent over the same period, and vehicle-borne bombs have dropped by 70 percent. Maj. Gen. Fil, added that, today, there is no longer any part of Baghdad under al Qaeda control, though the terrorist group is still ‘still lurking in the shadows.’
“Last week, the violence in Anbar province was the lowest ever recorded. The British handed control of southern Basra to the Iraqi government. And in Diyala, one of the most dangerous regions in Iraq, al-Qaeda militants tried to retake several villages around the town of Khalis, only to see U.S.-backed local volunteers drive the terrorists away. Tens of thousands of volunteers have joined ‘awakening councils’ that aim to combat al-Qaeda, and al-Qaeda’s number two, Aymal al-Zawahri has begun warning of ‘traitors’ among the insurgents in Iraq.
“As a result of the hard-won gains our troops have secured, General Petraeus has been able to initiate a drawdown of U.S. forces, a drawdown tied not to an artificial timetable but based on security gains in-country. This drawdown, beginning with the removal without replacement of some 5,000 American troops, has commenced following a dramatic drop in American casualty rates and enhanced security throughout the country.
“Al Qaeda’s leadership knows which side is winning in Iraq. Our soldiers know they have seized the momentum in this fight. Does the majority party understand that we are succeeding under the new strategy? The proponents of this bill cannot continue forever to deny or disparage the reality of progress in Iraq, or reject its connection to our new counterinsurgency strategy.
“As General Odierno explained, with the new counterinsurgency operations, ‘we have been able to eliminate key safe havens, liberate portions of the population and hamper the enemy’s ability to conduct coordinated attacks.’ General Odierno went on to add that ‘we have experienced a consistent and steady trend of increased security . . . and I believe continued aggressive operations by both Iraqi and coalition forces are the most effective way to extend our gains and continue to protect the citizens of Iraq.’
“Given these realities, some proponents of precipitous withdrawal from Iraq have shifted their focus. While conceding that there have been dramatic security gains, they have begun seizing on the lackluster performance of the Iraqi government to insist that we should abandon the successful strategy and withdraw U.S. forces. This would be a terrible mistake. Of course there is no question that Iraq’s national leaders must do more to promote reconciliation and improve governance, and that the reduction in violence has created a window for political and economic progress that Iraqi leaders must seize. But the likelihood that they make this progress would be vastly decreased, not increased, by a precipitous U.S. withdrawal. Whatever the failings of the imperfect democracy in Baghdad, they do not justify – either in terms of national interest or simple morality – abandoning it to the al-Qaeda terrorists and Iranian-backed militias trying to destroy it.
“None of this is to argue that Iraq has become completely safe, or that violence has come down to an acceptable level, or that victory lies just around the corner. On the contrary, the road ahead remains, as it always has been, long and hard. Violence is still at unacceptable levels in some parts of the country, unemployment remains high in many areas, and the Maliki government remains unwilling to function as it must. No one can guarantee success or be certain about its prospects. We can, however, be certain about the prospects for defeat if we fail to fund our troops.
“Make no mistake. Despite the progress I have outlined, there is no cause for complacency. Just as we have managed to turn failure into success in 2007, we can likewise turn success back into failure in 2008, if we are not careful. As Maj. Gen. Fil recently put it, progress toward securing the city remains fragile and that there is ‘absolutely a risk of going too quickly’ in drawing down troops. ‘An immediate pullout too quickly would be a real serious threat to stability here in Baghdad,’ he said. Al Qaeda is off balance, but they will come back swinging at us, if we give them the chance.
“Imagine, for a moment, if the one of those 40 attempts to force a withdrawal from Iraq had been successful earlier this year. Rather than hearing from our commanders and troops in the field about the enormous progress – the decline in violence, the Iraqis seeking to return home, the decrease in al Qaeda influence – we would hear instead a very different story, a darker one with terrible implications for the people of Iraq, the wider Middle East, and the security of the United States.
“Some of my colleagues would like to believe that, should the bill we are currently considering become law, without funding our troops in Iraq, it would mark the end of this long effort. They are wrong. Should the Congress force a precipitous withdrawal from Iraq, it would mark a new beginning, the start of a new, more dangerous effort to contain the forces unleashed by our disengagement. If we leave, we will be back – in Iraq and elsewhere – in many more desperate fights to protect our security and at an even greater cost in American lives and treasure. Now is not the time for us to lose our resolve.
“That is why the Senate must adopt this amendment. The funding contained in this amendment is not, as some have characterized it, the ‘President’s money.’ This money is for the troops. This funding is to provide them with the equipment and proper training they require to fulfill their mission, funding to protect our men and women from roadside bombs and other attacks, funding to enable them to bring this war to a successful end. And if the funding is not included, the President will very rightly veto this omnibus measure.
“I understand the frustration that many feel after nearly four years of mismanaged war. I share their frustration and sadness. But we must remember to whom we owe our allegiance. Not to short-term political gain, but to the security of America, to those brave men and women who risk all to ensure it, and to the ideals upon which our nation was founded. That responsibility is our dearest privilege and to be judged by history to have discharged it honorably will, in the end, matter so much more to all of us than any fleeting glory of popular acclaim, electoral advantage or office. Let us not sacrifice the remarkable gains our servicemen and women have made by engaging in a game of political brinksmanship. There is far too much at stake.
“I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, to fund our troops, and to support them so that, when they do return to us, they return with the honor and success their valiant efforts have earned. They, and the American people whom they are entrusted to protect, deserve nothing less.”