Cole Comments on Second Petraeus-Crocker Report
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Congressman Tom Cole (OK-4) issued the following statement today after attending the second set of reports on progress in Iraq delivered by General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker.
"General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker once again delivered a frank and telling report to Congress and the American people. They were very deliberate and candid in their assessments of both our progress in Iraq as well as the challenges that remain."
"The past 15 months have brought additional stability and security on the ground and the biggest challenges that remain are political in nature. I witnessed this myself when I visited Iraq last October as part of the first Congressional delegation to be allowed into the city of Ramadi without body armor. In Ramadi and other parts of the country, more police, soldiers and volunteers are signing up to help fight terror and stabilize the country."
"Iraqi government officials have implemented a budget and are creating a legitimate acquisition process which has allowed provinces to successfully request and receive funding from Iraq's central government. In February, the government in Iraq passed a 49 billion dollar budget which allocated over 20 billion dollars for security and capital investment. This evidence shows the Iraqi government is taking some steps to ensure their own security and invest more of their own money in the process. There is no doubt, though, that during the next phases of this mission, Iraq must use more and more of its own financial resources to rebuild the country."
"But the progress that General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker reported is also uneven and there are still considerable improvements to be made. The situation is still 'fragile' as General Petraeus put it. I continue to believe that we are making significant and important progress and that if America has the foresight and patience to see this job through to completion, we will have made the Middle East a safer and more secure region."
###