From Rep. Jim Moran's office...
Washington, D.C., September 10th - Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat, released the following statement regarding today's progress reports on Iraq being issued by General David Petraeus, top U.S. Commander in Iraq and Ryan Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq. Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker delivered the reports verbally to a joint session of the House Armed Services and House Foreign Affairs Committees."Gen. Petraeus states that the surge has been a success because overall violence is down in Iraq. June, July and August 2007, however, marked the bloodiest summer yet for U.S. troops in Iraq with 264 American soldiers killed. Civilian deaths are also on the rise having increased from 1,760 in July to 1,809 in August.
"Our troops have performed exceptionally well in Iraq. They have done what has been asked of them by their superiors, displaying why they are the best in the world. I am afraid however, that despite their valiant efforts, the end result will be a Shiite theocracy, aligned with Iran and equally oppressive of women's rights and human rights. Baghdad, for example, a city of six and one half million which was the headquarters for the Sunni-led government, has gone from roughly 65 percent Sunni to over 75 percent Shia. In other words, it would appear nearly two million Sunnis have been either displaced from their homes or killed. Iraq is fracturing rather than unifying."According to President Bush, the point of the surge was to create the breathing room necessary for political reconciliation. That reconciliation has not taken place and, in fact, the political environment may be worse today than it was before the surge began. Therefore, the surge has failed to achieve its objective and must be defined as a failure.
"Iraq is not worthy of our soldiers sacrifice. We must set a date for withdrawal so that the Iraqis will take responsibility for their own country. Our military mission is complete and our presence is only putting our troops at further risk."
Response from Senator Webb to Petraeus/Crocker Testimony today/ tomorrow:"I look forward to hearing first-hand from General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker [tomorrow] when they testify before the Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees in the Senate. From reports I've heard today, it's clear that, despite the relative improvements in security where additional troops have been deployed, we're still lacking an overarching strategy that includes robust diplomacy which will allow us to reduce our presence in Iraq while increasing stability in the region.
"Our troops and their families are under unprecedented levels of stress due to the pace and frequency of more than four years of deployments. I would like to hear from General Petraeus how we can meet our responsibility for the proper stewardship of our men and women in uniform."
Can he?
Here's hoping Harry Reid keeps his promise to force inclusion of Webb's amendment on any legislation that goes through the Senate.