Rep. Cole's Statement after Briefing Top Officials

WASHINGTON - Today Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement after providing a briefing of his recent experiences in Iraq to White House officials and Lieutenant General Doug Lute, the Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This morning's briefing went very well," Congressman Cole said. "It was an exceptional opportunity for both Congressman Keller and me to share our experiences in Iraq with General Lute, a man the President has asked to coordinate our policy in Iraq at the White House level. It was a very candid conversation with time dedicated to focusing on both the successes that have been made in Iraq as well as the obstacles that have to be overcome in the future."

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for General Lute - a man who has served this country with distinction throughout his lifetime. He is a fine leader and I trust that he will continue to faithfully execute his duties to provide honest assessments to our government leaders. Like Congressman Keller and me, General Lute sees real progress on the ground in Iraq. All three of us believe it is critical that the Iraqi government move decisively to take advantage of this opening. And all of us believe success will require patience and commitment on the part of our government."

"While we should be able to draw down U.S. forces as the situation in Iraq improves, this must not be done at a pace faster than our commanders on the ground believe to be prudent. Certainly we must not allow Al Qaeda or the insurgency to reclaim the ground that they have lost in recent months."

"General Lute seemed pleased to hear our description of the high state of our soldiers' morale, the decision of many local Sunnis to turn away from the insurgency and Al Qaeda and the obvious decline in the level of violence in Iraq. I believe he thought our first hand account of what we had seen and heard was both encouraging and consistent with the official reports he receives on a regular basis."

"While we are realistic and cautious, Congressman Keller and I both believe the situation is improving. The surge has given us a chance to succeed and to safely draw down. However, the pace may be slower than some would like and the key to success is the ability of Iraqis to work with one another as well as with the Coalition."

Congressman Cole returned last week from a three day trip to Kuwait, Iraq and Germany. He was accompanied on the trip by three other members of Congress. One of those members, Congressman Ric Keller (FL-08), participated in today's briefing as well.

While in Iraq, Cole met with General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, officials who provided assessments of the situation in Iraq to Congress in August. Cole also met with Deputy President ‘Adil ‘Abd al-Mahdi of Iraq as well as other provincial and city leaders. The Congressional Delegation was able to visit a troop entry-exit point at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, a state-of-the-art military hospital in Balad, Iraq, and a joint security station in Ramadi, Iraq. This was Cole's seventh trip to Iraq.