JOHN CORNYN: WHAT I HEARD AT THE PETRAEUS-CROCKER HEARINGS

April 09, 2008, 0:40 p.m.

What I Heard at the Petraeus-Crocker Hearings
Seeing the mission through.

By John Cornyn

America's top military commander and chief diplomat in Iraq reported Tuesday that we are making significant progress there. They added that we cannot afford to squander our gains by losing our resolve. But was anybody really listening?

Just this morning, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said the following on the Senate floor: "Is the war in Iraq making America safer? By all accounts, the answer…is `no.'

"Senator Reid's statement stands in direct contradiction to Amb. Crocker's testimony on Tuesday. "Al-Qaeda is our mortal and strategic enemy. So to the extent that al-Qaeda's capacities have been lessened in Iraq and they have been significantly lessened, I do believe that makes America safer."

Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker said the advances in security are fragile, and we must be patient in securing them.

(snip)

We all want to bring our troops home — there is no disagreement over that goal. The question is whether they will return after defeating the threat, or whether they'll return to an America that is less safe and more vulnerable to another terrorist attack.

If we give up too soon, according to Petraeus and Crocker, Iraq would become a breeding ground for terrorists, much like Afghanistan before 9/11. Last month, Osama bin Laden declared Iraq would be a "perfect" base for al-Qaeda. But thanks to our volunteer military, we now have al Qaeda on the run, as Gen. Petraeus declared: "We have our teeth into the jugular, and we need to keep it there."

— Senator John Cornyn (R., Tex.), is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan earlier this year.

READ MORE OF THE TRUTH ABOUT IRAQ, ABOUT OUR TROOPS, ABOUT OUR COMMITMENT TO FREEDOM...

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