McKeon Sees Iraq Progress

Says that success of troop surge is undeniable

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In a telephone press conference yesterday afternoon, Congressman Buck McKeon praised General Petraeus’s report that the Iraq troop surge has been successful. He followed that commendation by immediately calling for the US to continue on with the plan to keep troops in Iraq until full victory has been achieved.

“Today’s report by General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker on the troop surge in Iraq has provided us the opportunity to go beyond partisan politics so we can achieve victory and ultimately return home,” McKeon said.

McKeon compared Iraq’s fledging political difficulties with our own, noting that we’ve been unsuccessful in developing a plan for immigration, and we’ve been a democracy for hundreds of years.  

He also said he was happy with the Iraqi Army’s progress, although the Iraqi police force has still got to come a long way. But overall, he believes there to be significant progress in Iraq’s stability.

“While there is still much work to be done, the Petraeus-Crocker report indicates the troop surge is making a positive impact on the situation in Iraq ,” said McKeon. “ Truck bomb attacks are down 50 percent since we increased troop levels and there has been a 75 percent reduction in religious and ethnic killings over the past year.  These gains seem difficult for naysayers to accept, but it is important that we unite on this front and reach a successful end to the War.”