give them your wisdom so that they can find solutions to the complex problems that beset our nation strengthen them to serve and honor you by helping the old press keep them from fear and frustration as you equip and empower them to accomplish your will on earth made a fine your guidance throughout this day by seeking you in personal prayer when they call and they have petitions with your mighty power and guard those who put their trust in you replenish their resources with your peace that passes understanding we pray in your righteous name  washington d c july tenth two thousand and seven to the senate on the provisions of rule one paragraph three of the standing rules of the senate i hereby point honorable john tester a senator from the state of montana to perform the duties of the chair president mr president george later we're going to be in a period morning business for an hour following it out of the the majority will control the second half the republicans withdraw the first half of the morning business we had a conversation last night th distinguished republican leader and i'm amy and a decision was made at that time we're going to our very best on the web amendment to come up with a side by side so we can have some time today votes on those two amendments following that there and be another amendment offered and move along on this most important piece of legislation is present i'll be very brief i know we have so many important things to do here dealing with this legislation but i did want to say something about what's going on the smoke is so thick helicopters can't fly firefighters have been lost and not knowing where they are fighting these fires it's rough terrain what people don't understand is nevada is other than lask of those montana state in the union has three hundred fourteen separate mountain ranges we have thirty two mountains or eleven thousand feet high and some of this terrain where these fires are burning is very very difficult lake tahoe leash we share that with california and there was a raging fire that lasted two weeks it's now been put out but they think that at least four hundred structures have burned two hundred seventy five or three hundred homes burned to the ground we have in nevada a lot of the place in the past we have these species that are foreign to the high desert of nevada they start burning they get into the low mountains they get in the cedars and pines and then start burning in the forest and that's what's happened in a matter we have one fire where we've had three lives lost is fire burned so quickly that three grown man could not escape the fire they were doing work on their farm as the eleven year old boy they saw the fire coming he said run for your life literally and eleven year old boy ran and did survive his family didn't they all die three of them i say this mr president because now we've shut down roads in one part of utah hundred miles of interstate we're just closed because the fires think about that a hundred miles of interstate just closed people couldn't go one reason is the smoke was so thick not to fire the smoke there's been remarkable heroism as there always is with these men and women who fight these raging fires i quoted a couple weeks ago edward croaker a long past member of the fire chief in state new york who said i have no ambition in the world but one and that is to be a fireman our proudest moment is to save lives ice under the impulse of such thoughts nobility of the occupation thrills and stimulators to deeds of daring even a supreme thought sacrifice that's what he said the way fires are five hundred years after this man said this is different than they used to be but it still takes a great deal of courage and many times stuff two hundred forty five square miles and they have some the fires and not they're not under control yet so mr president i i just want the record to reflect that we have problems in the west some say it's global warming whatever the reason we've never had fires like we've had the last four years into that and i think the west generally so i would finally say mr president long after the smoke is cleared the counts of bravery will still be moved still be told and  previous order they will now be a period of mourning business for sixty minutes with senators permitted to speak there and up to ten minutes each with the time equally divided in control between the two leaders or their designees with the first half the time of the control the republicans and the second half the time in the control of the president i rise to speak about the pending business before the senate which is the department of defense authorization bill for fiscal year two thousand and eight this is a bill that the senate armed services committee has worked long and hard on over a period of several months i'm privileged to be a member of the committee now doubly privileged to be chair of the early and subcommittee i'm proud of the work of the committee this is a bill that does the best we possibly can to support and expand our forces during a time of war unfortunately most of the time that will be spent by this chamber and this bill will not be about the solid substance of the department bill but will be on a series of amendments that will be offered to alter our course our force our withdrawal from iraq in my considered opinion respectful this is a mistake these amendments regarding iraq i believe are untimely they are unwise and they are unfair they are they are untimely in the sense that they  there premature and should await september when as ordained by this congress itself on the supplemental appropriations bill general petraeus and ambassador crocker will come back to report to us fully they are unwise if ever adopted because they would essentially represent a retreat from iraq a defeat for the united states and the forces of a new iraq  tremendous victory for iran and al qaeda who are two most significant enemies in the world today and introducing these amendments at this time in my opinion is unfair unfair most of all to the hundred sixty thousand americans in uniform over there men and women brave effective in my opinion the new greatest generation of american soldiers committed to this fight believing we can win it  putting their lives on the line every day they have made tremendous progress already in the so called surge counteroffensive to snipe at them from here is in my opinion unfair and that's why i will oppose all of the amendments that i've heard about those four and why i want to discuss them today i suppose in terms of timeliness that if one felt that th surge counter offensive which began in february and has just been fully staffed a couple of weeks ago had absolutely failed then one might say ok we won't wait until september as we promised we do will try to force a change in policy or retreat right now but the fact is i will discuss will show that the surge is showing some success in some ways some remarkable success and doesn't justify these amendments overtreat being introduced at this time mr president just six months ago this chamber voted unanimously confirm general david petraeus as commander of our forces in iraq the fact is which we all acknowledge that before that the administration had followed a strategy in iraq that simply was not working it was a stretch naji focused on keeping the u s force presence as small as possible regardless of conditions on the ground and of pushing iraqi forces into the lead as quickly as possible regardless of their capabilities to do so general petraeus oversaw when he stepped back to general petraeus was part of a process along with others that presented a dramatically different strategy to the president of the united states the commander of and in chief and he accepted that dramatically different strategy which was to apply classic principles of counterinsurgency that have been successful elsewhere so that instead of our main goal being to get out of iraq our main goal became to protect the civilian population that the terrorists were persistently attacking bringing chaos throughout the country including particularly in the capital city of baghdad making it impossible a new iraqi government to take shape as a result over the past five months many and many problems many crises many challenges in iraq that had long been described as hopelessly beyond solution have begun to improve in baghdad the sectarian violence that had paralyzed the city for more than a year began to drop dramatically in anbar province which the chief of marine corps intelligence in iraq described just nine months ago as last and and he was right at that point a city which i was not allowed to visit when i went to iraq in december because it was too dangerous our surge forces have moved in effectively working to gather with sunni tribal loot leaders and their sunni followers we have got al qaeda on the run matter fact they have effectively run province the province that they said they intended to make the capital of the new islamised extremist republic of iraq when i was in a wreck of months ago i was not only allowed to visit ramadi and walk it streets but was tremendously impressed by the peace and rebirth that is occurring there as john burns of the new york times recently put it the capital city of ambar ramadi has since quote gone from being the most dangerous place in iraq to being one of the least dangerous places and quote despite these gains in baghdad and anbar critics of the new strategy nonetheless insisted that it was not working pointing to the fact that yes al qaeda is on the run but it's running and causing devastation in other parts of iraq now in diala province for instance but what happened general petraeus and the other generals now with the additional personnel brought under his command by the surge counter offensive strategy was able to leave some troops in ambar fortified by iraqi security forces in the sunni tribal forces and move the surge for coober there where they now have out qaida on the run there are forces in the field are of course still facing some daunting challenges and a brutal inhumane flow prepared to blow themselves up to two to make a point to kill others hating us and others more than they love their own lives but the plain truth is that iraq in this month july two thousand and seven is a very different and better place than iraq in january or february of two thousand and it is because of the so called surge plan or offensive strategy those who refuse to recognize that change and nonetheless go forward with the same policies of defeat and withdrawal that they've been talking about for months have i would say respectfully close their eyes not to mention their heads to the reality of what is actually happening on the ground in iraq general petraeus has persistently appealed to us to have some patience to see to not rush to judgment about the success or failure of the new surge strategy and it's only right that we do so but instead of respecting those pleas withholding our judgment remaining true to what we ourselves put into the supplemental appropriations bill which was a requirement for an interim or more report this week and a full report on paper about the benchmarks and in person by general petraeus and animal crackers september instead of waiting for that to happen i regret that some of my colleagues have decided to go ahead and submit these amendments with which to me represent the continuation of a long time legislative trench warfare against our presence in iraq that matter what the facts on the ground there are rather than giving general petraeus and his troops a fair chance to succeed and it's not just for them it is for us and i regret that the efforts will be made here to undermine our strategy which is now a successful strategy in iraq to dictate when where and against whom our soldiers can fight and when we should get out i suppose it would be justified if somebody concluded that the war was lost in iraq the war's not lost interact in fact now american and iraqi security forces are winning the enemy is on the run in iraq but here in in congress in in washington we seem to be are some some members seem to be on the run chased  fear by public opinion polls i know the american people are frustrated i understand that i know what they see every night on the t v the suicide bombs i know how much they want their loved ones to come home no one wants that more than we do here but the consequences of doing that would be a disaster for wrecked the middle east and for us because the victors would be iran and al are two most dangerous enemies in the world today and trust me they would follow us back here to this country if i said one might pursue a policy of changing course directing their retreat a withdrawal accepting defeat if one thought that the world was lost the war is not lost in fact i will say to my colleagues today that this war in iraq will never be lost by our military on the ground in iraq the war in iraq can only be lost with the loss of political will here at home and perhaps with the loss of political will in iraq but that story is not finished perhaps there are some who would say that the war is not lost but it's not worth winning i think you've got to think of the consequences of defeat i know that in the midst and the consequences of the feeder a victory for iran and al qaeda chaos in iraq slaughter that will prob blee begin to look like genocide instability in the region and the danger that we will be forced to send our troops back into the region in greater numbers to fight a more difficult war the amendments in iraq to be offered on this department of defense bill i think are mistaken and  the alternatives that my colleagues are going to propose in these amendments one of the amendments would demand a total withdrawal of american troops from iraq as quickly as possible it sponsors argue that we can continue to fight al qaeda in iraq and defend our other key interest in the middle east by operating from bases elsewhere there with all due respect this is fantasy as my friend senator lugar pointed out a short while ago a complete american withdrawal from iraq is likely to have devastating consequences for american national security and everyone knows that senator lugar is a skeptic about current strategy and events in iraq yet in his words a complete withdrawal from iraq would compound i quote the risks of a wider regional conflict it would be a severe blow to u s credibility that would make nations in the region far less likely to cooperate with us it would expose iraqis who have worked with us to retribution and would also be a signal that the united states was abandoning efforts to prevent direct iraqi territory from being used as a terrorist base and quote so spoke the distinguished senator from indiana senator lugar another mehmet would keep some forces in iraq but most forces out by next april first their numbers would be dramatically reduced and the mission dramatically redefined some argue that american soldiers should withdraw from our acts cities and instead focus on the training of iraqi forces targeting counterterrorism and protecting the remaining american troops there let me say mr president that that's a vision that i would have brace for the future but not as a substitute for the surge counter offensive strategy we're following now but as a consequence of a successful implementation of that strategy for if we in this chamber and congress mandate the withdrawal of our troops down to a core group with a new mission before the security forces are ready to provide security we're going back to the exact strategy some described as the rumsfeld strategy which didn't work which was roundly condemned by most people in both parties over a period of years i repeat my confidence that the number of american troops will be reduced but it will be reduced best when it is reduced as a result of the successful implementation of the surge strategy as carried out heroically by american forces mr president i conclude with these words our responsibilities in this chamber ultimately do not allow us to be guided by our frustrations or even by public opinion polls when we respectfully believe that those public opinion polls do not reflect what is best for our nation we were elected to lead we were elected to see beyond the next election to do what is best for the next generation of americans we were elected to defend our beloved country its security and its values all that is on the line in iraq today so i appeal to my colleagues let's not undercut our troops and legislate a defeat in show the fairness and respect for general petraeus embassador crocker and all the people working for us there to wait until september which is what we said we would do until we take a serious look at these amendments if we go down the path that the amendments entice us toward what awaits us is an emboldened iran a strengthened al qaeda a failed iraq that will become not just a killing field but will destabilize the entire middle i think needs to be said this when ing the losing is a big part of wars a big part of politics everybody wants to win and people are afraid to lose and but ask found in life there are some things that are worth fighting for and willing to lose your job over and to me the policies in iraq fall into that category because it's much more important than knowledge that we get it right in iraq and from  senator lieberman's point of view i don't think i've seen in modern politics anyone more committed to their beliefs than senator lieberman when it comes to to a foreign policy issue like iraq we all know the story of his last election how he was basically lost a primary because he refused to give in to the forces on the left when it came to the war on terror policies particularly iraq he literally was really risk losing his job lost a prevailed i think you prevail because the good people of connecticut saw in senator lieberman and man committed to his ideas and his ideas that he were committed to were bigger than him self and they may not have agreed with center to lieberman about his policies on iraq but they sure it marred what they saw in the man and that is someone who was clearly putting the country's interests ahead of their own and there's not enough of that the only group that i can say with certainty that is doing the same thing are the men and women interact with the fourth of july this year last week i was interact baghdad from a six or seven visit but this was a special a visit i got to be all in the ground in iraq on the fourth of july our independence day and being part of a ceremony put on by general petraeus the staff where you had five hundred eighty plus people realist it was the realist ceremony in a war zone in history since general petraeus and right after the reenlistment ceremony you had one hundred sixty plus american soldiers who became naturalized citizens and it was something to be old to be in that former saddam palace and there around those brave young men and women who are signing up to do it in iraq yet again and who are becoming american citizens literally risking their lives to do so was inspiring now this debate that we're about to enter into is not about anyone's patriotism my colleagues here were we're friends politically one day and we're on the other side the next that's the nature of politics and it's never about respect for the person i do have respect for my colleagues i hope the same is said of me is the better judgment and when i question your judgment you question mine that's best for the political process and our judgments need to be tested  the decisions we make now affect many people says the long term future of our country it affects the soldiers in harm's way and our judgment will be tested by the next election and it will be tested by the as of history so here's what i believe we need to do in terms of iraq policy for the immediate future we need to listen very closely to what's being said in theater by our generals and by our enemy ministers our here either the second in command about kate is not in iraq but he issued a statement i think it was last thursday about an hour long statement and it was basically a call to not lose hope iraq that he was it acknowledging that you're under strain and stress and that you're really being pounded but hang in there because your cause is great and he encouraged everyone who iraq now to beat us because our ideas are just important to their way of life the idea of being tolerant to different religions and different views of religion is an absolute reinforcements and why was he doing that the reason he chose to make that statement is because the new strategy being employed now in iraq is working against al and i don't want to overstate it the main reason al qaeda is losing ground in iraq has more to do about them than us out dramatically overplayed their hand wherever they occupied a region in the sunni part of iraq they tremendously overplayed their hand and during this debate i will give some illustrations of some of the brutal vicious things they did to folks living in iraq once they were under al qaeda control and the sunni's in iraq basically are fed up with out qaeda they've had a taste of what al qaeda offers them and they said no thanks they've rejected our kate is view of how to live one's life and how to raise one's children and lucky for us that the president made a change in strategy that should have happened years ago where we're putting additional combat capability into the iraqi theater and this rejection of al qaeda by the sunni leadership in the sunni population came at a time where we have additional combat capability to reinforce that rejection and no matter what you think about the surge it is undeniable that there has been new alliances formed between sunni iraqis and coalition forces and areas exist in anbar they exist no longer in any force they're isolated now the province dominated by the sunni iraqis is a transformed region in terms of al qaeda operations us and their safe haven was denied they went to the diyala province well we're doing the same thing that we did in anbar we're making alliances local sunni leaders and some shias contest more of a mixed area and the big washington one of the highest ranking al qaeda leaders in the world was trying to inspire his troops to say that no matter how much you're losing ground in iraq may be coming from have had a taste of that lifestyle and they said no all they need is additional capacity to defeat al qaeda that additional capacity has been has been provided by the surge and the additional military capability that exists now has made a world of difference and the strategy is fundamentally different before for almost four years we're been behind walls trying to train the iraqi police a and get in firefights and come back when the firefight was over general petraeus with additional military personnel has created joint security stations all over neighborhoods where we're living with the iraqi police and army we're training them day in and day out we're sleeping with them in terms of staying overnight and we're stakeholders of that area not only are we helping clear that area we're holding that area and we're having more combat capability the surge provides for every combat troop available to do operations before the surge we have an additional soldier now and that's allowed us to go into areas previously that we could not go into before declare hold stay in live with the iraqi army train the iraqi army day in and day out a police force and it is truly truly working this is my hope that as we get into this debate we will understand that if we go back to the old strategy of withdrawing behind walls alliances that have been formed between the al qaeda meet the sunni leadership in iraq and coalition forces and the central government will be destroyed we've put tanks around the sunni shakes homes we've created joint security stations in neighborhoods that have previously been occupied by qaeda and it is working if we withdraw all of those people who form these alliances will be at risk and i think al qaeda will emerge again stronger the one thing is clear to me the old strategy of just training and staying behind walls failed the new strategy of getting into the fight getting out into neighborhoods holding territory with additional combat capability forming new transforming alliances is working now senator levin a dear friend wants to say we're going to leave in march of one hundred twenty days from now i can't remember how the minutes worded but it basically says statement by the congress that we're going to do the surge the surge comes to and then we begin to leave and we leave a force behind that will do a couple things train the iraqi army and police force well we tried that for four years  training during a war is a little different than training when you're not at war we train our soldiers here at home but they're not in a wartime situation while they're being trained the people in iraq are being trained in fighting at the same time they need more than training they need combat capability that is non existent on their part this is a democracy this less than four years old their constitution is less than eighteen months old the army and the police force four years ago was there to support the dictator not democracy so if you expect from the ashes of the dictatorship of functioning democracy in four years i think you're sadly mistaken because it took us eleven years to write our own constitution  hopeful that we can still win in iraq number one there's evidence with a new strategy that we can defeat and destroy al qaeda in iraq number two every time iraqi soldiers killed or a policeman is murdered someone takes their place every time a judge is assassinated someone else comes along says hey i'll be a judge now what more can you ask we're losing troops in is heart breaking the enemy that we're fighting understands that americans we don't like the taste of war and that's an asset that's not a liability we're not a warring people it's not our natures of people to go to other places and take land from people and dominate their lives it is our nature to allow people to chart their own destiny and to be partners economically while the enemy wants no part of that so what i hope will do is take these amendments that will come on to the floor and ask ourselves one simple question if this a minimum passes what effect does it have on our military commanders to execute this new strategy that is clearly working if this amendment passes how does it affect our qaeda in iraq and throughout the world what effect would it have on the voices of moderation that are lives that are giving their own lives to change their own country in iraq if th minute passes how does it affect iran and the one thing i learned from this last trip al qaeda overplayed their hand and we're taking advantage of it that iran is trying to destabilize  now more than ever and don't mistake these new alliances between coalition forces and sunni iraqis to be a political reconciliation the bad news from a trip is that the iraqi government is paralyzed that they political leadership in iraq sunni shia and kurd they are unable to get their act together at this point that new elections would be good for the sunni's how much time t ok we'll talk more about this the good news is that this surge is the al qaeda is worst nightmare they've been rejected by the sunni's in iraq and if we stay on them we can destroy al qaeda in iraq the bad news is that the current political infrastructure anorak is incapable of making the hard decisions for the moment and we've got to think a new way to push them much more to foll mr president senator pennsylvania thank you mr president i rise for a brief period of time today to pay tribute to a pennsylvania who just passed away this past week a constituent of mine whose family i've known for many years and i think he's like a lot of people in our communities in our states who lead lives of service and struggle and in achievement and often in their lives or are not the subject of headlines or big stories but when i think of alex george sr who was the father of bill george william george was the president of the a f l cio in our state of pennsylvania i think of those people people who grew up in in parts of western pennsylvania where over many generations steel was the foundation of the economy and in places like where mr george lived aliquippa pennsylvania a very strong  community that had a thriving steel industry that is now largely gone from that city and from that community still a little bit but not nearly what it was when thousands of people were employed alex george like a lot of pennsylvania's and frankly like a lot of americans lived a life of triumph or he had overcome difficulties in his own life to become not just a union leader where the old amalgamated association of iron and steel workers which of course is the forerunner of this of the present day the modern day steel workers that his son bilges george joined many years later we think of his life today and what he did for the labor movement of western pennsylvania and pennsylvania and also what he did as a law enforcement officer he was a police officer as well in his later years so i want to just rise briefly to pay tribute to him to his life of work for the men and women of of labor to make do everything possible to make sure that they have lives that are rewarded in the sense that they're allowed to organize they're allowed to have the opportunity to have the dignity of their labor  part of the fabric of their lives so we pay tribute to him today alex jordan so many others who built the middle class in america and who is a proud son of aliquippa pennsylvania and in a special way i express my condolences to the entire george family especially bill george as a president of the a f l cio of pennsylvania alex george leaves behind three sons two others other than than bill george and alex jr as well as nine grandchildren and many great grandchildren so in the spirit of condolence but also in the spirit of tribute i paid tribute today to alex george and to the a legacy that senate in a period of morning business up until eleven o'clock eastern time they will resume debate on the two thousand and eight defense programs bill you heard comments from senator lieberman senator graham about possible amendments they may offer later on calling for the withdrawal of troops or dealing with the troops in iraq debate on the bill could live could last as long as a couple of weeks as senators offer various opinions in amendments to the programs the authorization bill the programs bill for two thousand and eight the house then this afternoon they come in at two eastern live coverage on c span a number of bills today including the bill dealing with foreign investment and national security you can follow that on c span beginning at two o'clock the senate today will take their their weekly break at twelve thirty for party lunches and then back at two fifteen also we understand president bush will be speaking today about iraq as a matter of fact the washington post reports that in his comments today in cleveland he will call or he will lay out quote his vision for post surge iraq has the article on the front page of the washington post reports this morning we will make every effort to bring you that speech alive if possible on the c span networks we certainly are covering that and we'll show it later in our program schedule president bush in cleveland today also live today coming up by this afternoon at three o'clock eastern on c span three a house hearing looking at mental health and addictions one of speaking is former first lady or one of those testifying former first lady rosalynn carter this afternoon that's live on c n n three at three calls on c span radio fighting forces in the world and we can all be very proud of that we need our military to be the best trained best equipped and the most prepared force on the planet tragically however the president's war in iraq and its use of extended deployments is undermining our military readiness today the current deployment schedule hurts our ability to respond to threats around the world it causes  service members to leave the military service early it weakens our ability to respond to disasters here at home i'm fairly burdens family members and intense the five the combat stress that our service members experience mr president we need to rebuild our military and the first step is giving our fighting men and women the time they need here at home to have prepare and train for their next mission today i rise to address the readiness challenges that threaten our military strength and ultimately our nation's security mr president more than four years into the war in iraq our troops are stretched thin our equipment is deteriorating and the patience of our nation is wearing thin we have seen three thousand six hundred service members die thousands upon thousands more have been injured and month after month after month our fighting men and women are pushing harder and harder troops leave loved ones for months and years and put their lives on the line without complaint we owe them the best treatment and the best training possible unfortunately mr president the bush administration has fallen short in those areas one of the major problems for our troops for their families and their communities is the growing gap between the time troops spend in the battle versus the time they spend at home this gap is alarming it's disheartening and it is a disservice to the brave men and women who put themselves in harm's each and every day sadly mr president our forces are being burned out many of our troops are on their third or even their fourth tour in iraq and afghanistan months ago the department of defense announced that would their tours would be extended from twelve months to fifteen months and on top of all that they are not receiving the necessary time at home before they are sent back to battle mr president that's not the normal schedule it's not what our troops signed up for and we here in congress should not simply stand by and allow our troops to be pushed beyond their limits like this that is why here on the senate floor today we are debating the webb amendment and it is why we need to pass it this week mr president traditionally active duty troops are deployed for one year and then they rest at home for two years national guard and reserve troops are deployed for one year and then they rest at home for five years but tragically that is not the case of what's happening today today active troop duty troops are spending less time at home than they are in the battle less time at home than they are in battle and our guard and reserve forces are receiving less than three years rest for every year in combat so with that increasing number and length of deployments this president this rest time is even more critical for our troops and they are not receiving that break they need that is increasing the chances that they will burn out but this administration the bush administration has decided to go the other direction pushing our troops harder extending their time abroad sending troops time back time and again to the battlefield just in march of this year a few months ago salon dot com reported what i hope is an extreme example of the lengths the military is going to get our soldiers back to the battlefield i ask consent mr president that the entire story appear in the record without objections or thank you mr president i do want to read to you an excerpt from that story because i think it's really important that we all understand what is happening to our troops this is from salon dot com last november army specialist edgar hernandez a communication specialist with the unit of the army's third infantry division had surgery on an ankle he had injured during physical training after the surgery doctors put his leg in a cast and he was supposed to start physical therapy when the cast came off six weeks later but two days after his cast removed army commanders decided it was more important to send him to a training site in a remote desert rather than let him stay at fort benning georgia to rehabilitate in january hernandez was shipped to the national training center at fort irwin california where his unit the thirty nine hundred strong third brigade of the third infantry division was condensed conducting a month of training in anticipation for leaving for iraq in march hernandez says he was in no shape to train for a war so soon after his injury i couldn't walk he told salon in an interview he said he was amazed when he learned he was being sent to california did they not realize that i'm hurt and i need physical therapy he remembered thinking i was told by my doctor and my physical therapist that this was crazy hernandez had served two tours in iraq where he helped maintain communications gear in the units armored bradley fighting vehicles but he could not participate in more maneuvers conducted on a one thousand square mile mock battlefield located in the harsh mojave desert instead when he got to california he was led to a large tent where he would be housed he was shocked they reported by what he sign side there were dozens of other hurt soldiers some on crutches others with their arms and  had debilitating back injuries and nearby was another ten housing female soldiers with health issues issues ranging from injuries to pregnancy hernandez is one of a dozen soldiers who stayed for weeks in those tents who were interviewed for this report some of whose medical records were also reviewed by salon all of the soldiers said they had no business being sent to fort irwin given their physical condition in some cases soldiers were sent there even though their injuries were so severe that doctors had previously recommended they should be considered for medical retirement from the army military experts say they suspect that the deployment to fort irwin of injured soldiers was an effort to pump up manpower statistics used to show the readiness of army units close quote so mr president clearly if the military is going to those lengths to pump up read statistics we have a huge problem but these problems are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the effect of the administration's rotation policy the current rotation policy not only burns out service members but it hurts the military's ability to respond to other potential threats for the first time in decades the army's ready brigade which is intended to enter trouble spots within seventy two hours cannot do so all of its troops are in iraq and afghanistan the limited period between deployments lessens the time to train for other threats numerous military leaders have spoken to us about this problem general james conway said and i quote i think my largest concern probably has to do with training when we're home for that seven eight nine months our focus is going back to iraq and as i mentioned in the opening statement therefore we're not doing amphibious training not doing mountain warfare training we're not doing combined arms fire maneuver such as would need to be the case potentially in another type of contingency close quote that's not me mr president that is general conway before the senate armed services committee in february of this chair and general barry mccaffrey said that because all full combat ready active duty and reserve combat units are now deployed in iraq and afghanistan i quote no fully train national strategic reserve brigades are now prepared to deploy to new combat operations close quote so mr president that the current deployment situation is hurting our troops and it's hurting our troops in another way is contributing to a drop in our retention rates keeping battle experienced and capable troops in the military is essential to our ability to respond to future threats west point classes of two thousand and two thousand and one have an attrition rate five times higher than pre iraq war levels fifty poor four percent of west point class of two thousand left the army by the end of last year forty six percent of west point class of two thousand and one left the army by the end of last year marine corps active forces are losing troops especially critical mid grade noncommissioned officers and that is despite a bonus for those who realist so clearly mr president this policy is not sustainable this deployment schedule that we've been talking about is also making us less secure here at home the current rotation policy has left our guard units short of manpower and supplies and severely hindered their ability to respond to our disasters that can occur at any time here at home the recent tornado that destroyed much of greensburg kansas is a terrible a sample after their town was destroyed greensburg residents needed shelter they needed food they needed water and they needed it fast but because the kansas national guard was stretched so thin  was hard for them to respond as fast as was necessary for an emergency right here at home governor sebelius and mayor mayor major general todd bending who's the head of the kansas national guard said not only is guard equipment being worn out but so are its troops some of whom were in their fourth tour in iraq for years these problems were the exception not the rule but i fear mr president that balance is shifting last month the usa today reported that national guard units in thirty one states say four years of war in iraq and afghanistan have left them with sixty percent or less of their authorized equipment and last month letter lieutenant general steven blum said the national guard units have fifty three percent of the equipment they need to handle state emergencies and that number falls to forty nine percent once guard equipment needed for war such as weapons is factored in in fact glom said and i quote our problem right now is that our equipment is at an all time low mr president this is deeply concerning to all of us who worry about a national disaster in our states especially out in the west as we now face fires in our forests that are threatening homes and families and lives and we fear stream devastation but mr president this problem is more than about equipment it's more than about retention rates it is about real people and about real families we all know military life can be tough on troops and their families they go for months sometimes years without seeing each other while troops are away fighting for all of us sons daughters are born sons and daughters grow up without their moms or dads present husbands and wives don't see each other for years fathers die mothers die family members become sick mr president our troops need adequate time at home to see their newborn to be a part of their children's lives to spend time with their spouses and to see their parents the current rotation policy decreases dramatically the time families are together and that places a tremendous strain on everyone our troops facing these early deployments and extended tours has spoken out when the tour extensions and early deployments were announced our troops themselves expressed their displeasure in georgia according to the atlanta journal constitution soldiers of a georgia army national guard unit were hoping to return home in april but instead they may be spending another grueling summer in the iraqi desert at least four thousand national guard soldiers may spend up to four extra months in iraq as part of the president bush's troop increase announced last month sergeant gary hefner a spokesman for the two hundred four said news of the extension came as a little bit of a shock to the georgians in the foot first calvary division according to the dallas morning news eighteen months after their first iraqi rotation the second battalion fifth calvary regiment and last of fort hood texas base first calvary division returned to iraq in mid november mr president those troops according to this article were deeply concerned about that here in my home state in tacoma washington just this past weekend an article from the top from the tacoma news tribune that i ask unanimous consent to put in the record that object was ordered from soldiers going once again as president i asked for two additional minutes to finish my statement without objection sort of talking about the a tremendously difficult time that they are having being redeployed so mr president i rise today to speak out for the webb amendment is amendment that supports our troops it supports our too far requiring regular forces be at home for as long as they are deployed it requires that our national guard reserve forces be home for at least three years for every year deployed that's seems to me basic common sense requirements i applaud our colleague from virginia for being a champion for our troops and for crafting this bipartisan measure that he and i think the entire senate can be proud of its president our troops have sacrificed so much for us we have to institute a fair policy for the health of our troops for the health and well being of their families and for our nation security and the ability to respond to disasters here at home another moment of importance this week in debating the fiscal year two thousand and eight defense authorization bill will have to help set the course of the nation's security policy and influence our participation in the war in iraq and afghanistan much of the debate as we all know will be about iraq and before i discuss that in my recent visit i note that many provisions in this bill constitute a good defense policy and will strengthen the ability of our country to defend itself under the leadership of my good friend from michigan the chairman of the committee senator levin i think we have crafted a excellent piece of legislation i think a testimony to his leadership is that the committee voted unanimously to report the bill and it fully funds the president's six hundred forty eight billion dollars defense budget request it provides necessary measures to try to bring under control waste fraud abuse and defense procurement and it makes frankly members more accountable for their spending and the earmark process again i'd like to thank chairman levin the subcommittee chairs and all committee chairman members for their work in bringing this issue to the floor very briefly mr president we've authorized a three and a half percent across the board pay raise for all military personnel we've increased army and marine in strength that five hundred twenty five thousand four hundred and one hundred ninety eight eighty nine thousand respectively the committee also approved two point seven billion dollars for items on the army chief of staff's unfunded requirement list including seven hundred seventy five million for reactive armor another strike the requirements two hundred seven million alors for aviation survivability equipment one hundred two million dollars for combat training centers and funding for explosive ordinance disposal equipment night vision devices and machine guns the bill also authorizes four point one billion dollars for mine resistance and bush protected vehicles known as rap vehicles for all the services known requirement a committee has come up with the money to support our troops and i have no doubt that the full senate will follow step money and policy statements or not all that's required at this moment in our national history courage is required courage and not the great courage exhibited by the brave men and women fighting today in iraq and afghanistan but a smaller measure the courage necessary to put our country's interests before every personal or political consideration in this light i'd like to discuss america's involvement in iraq finally i'd like to make several points final reinforcement needed to implement general petraeus his new counterinsurgency tactics arrived just several weeks ago last week i had the opportunity to visit these troops in theater and what i saw and heard while there i believe that our military in cooperation with the iraqis security forces is making progress in a number of areas there there are areas where they are not i'd like to outline some of their efforts not to argue that these areas of suddenly become safe they have not want to emphasize the areas have not become safe but illustrate the progress that our military has achieved under general petraeus is the str last year it was and our province was lead to be lost to al qaeda on the map we see that u s and iraqi troops cleaned out al and other areas of western anbar tribal sheiks broke with the terrorists and joined the coalition side it is a fact that some sixteen out of the twenty four shakes in the sunni area and bar province have now joined with u s forces in their commitment to destroy al qaida in anbar province ramadi months ago was iraq's most dangerous city now one of its safes considerable political risk i point out that i have visited with senator graham downtown ramadi where the shopping areas were open i did not visit without protection or without security forces with me but the fact is that a short time ago it was one of the most dangerous cities in all of iraq attacks are down from thirty to thirty five a day in february the most is year zero in most days now in fallujah iraqi police of established numerous stations and of divide the city into gated districts violence has declined and local intelligence tips so proliferate throughout and our province thousands of young men are signing up for the police and army and the locals are taking the fight to al qaeda all eighteen major tribes in the province are now on board with a security plan a year from now the iraqi army and police could have total control of security in ramadi allowing american forces to safely draw down south of baghdad operation phantom thunder is intended to stop insurgents present in the baghdad belts from originating attack in the capital itself a brigade of the tenth mountain division which i visited is operating baghdad belts that have been havens for al qaeda all soldiers in the brigade are living for work that means they are in outposts away from the headquarters twenty four seven living working and fighting alongside iraqi military and commanders report at the local shakes are increasingly siding with the coalition against al qaida southeast of baghdad the military is targeting al qaeda and safe havens they maintain the tigris river in baghdad itself military in cooperation with iraqi security forces continue to establish joint security stations and deployed throughout the city these efforts have produced some positive results sectarian violence has fallen since january the total number of car bombings and suicide attacks declined in maine june the number of locals coming forward with intelligence tips has risen make no mistake violence in baghdad remains it unacceptably high levels of suicide bombers and other threats posed formidable challenges and other difficulties abound nevertheless there appears to be overall movement in the right spreads have no doubt how difficult suicide bombers are to counter asked the israelis literally had to seal their borders with gaza and the west bank because of the way that people who are willing to sacrifice their own lives in order to take the lives of others are able to get through and do these horrendous acts that on full that we are exposed to quite often lie on our television screens  did not quickly withdraw from the area in response locals have formed a new alliance with the county with the coalition to counter al qaeda why are some of these people now turning against al qaida mr president one reason is because the extreme cruelty that is practiced by al qaeda on a routine basis which has caused many people to reject that kind of extreme violence and cruelty inflicted on the away nor are they likely to go away in the near future and our brave men and women in iraq will continue to face great challenges what i do believe is that while the mission to bring it agree of security or actin environs in particular in order to establish the necessary preconditions for political and economic progress while that mission is still in its early stages the progress our military has made should encourage us it's also clear that the overall strategy that general petraeus has put into place a traditional counterinsurgency tactic that emphasizes protecting the population and which gets our troops off of the bases and into the areas they're trying to protect at this strategy is the correct one some of my colleagues argue that we should return troops to the forward operating bases and can find their to these to training and targeted counterterrorism operations what we did for three and a half years and the situation in iraq got worse over three and a half years we had our troops from operating bases going out search and destroy as we used to call it during the vietnam war we go back to their bases failed strategy from the beginning i'm surprised that any of my colleagues would advocate a return to the failed rumsfeld casey strategy no one can be certain whether this new strategy which remains in the early stages and bring about greater stability we can be sure that should the united states senate seek to legislate an end to the strategy as it is just beginning and we will fail for certain now that the military effort in iraq is showing some signs of progress the space is opening for political progress yet rather than seizing the opportunity the government of prime minister maliki is not functioning as it was as it mu repeat the government of prime minister maliki is not functioning as it must we see little evidence of reconciliation and little progress toward meeting the benchmarks laid out by the president the iraqi government can function iraqi government can function the question is whether it will encourage political progress i believe that we can find wisdom in several suggestions put forward recently by henry kissinger intensified to go she ation among the iraqi parties to limit violence promote reconciliation and put the political system on a more stable footing we should promote a dialogue between the iraqi government and its sunni arab neighbors specifically egypt jordan and saudi arabia in order to build broader international acceptance for the iraq central government in exchange for that government meeting specific obligations respect to the protection and political participation of the sunni minority we should begin a broader effort to establish a basis for aid and even peacekeeping efforts by the international community keyed to political progress in iraq taking such steps we must recognize that no lasting political settlement can grow out of a us withdrawal on the contrary a withdrawal must grow out of a political solution a solution made possible by the imposition war but shifted to other areas like lebanon or jordan or saudi arabia produce greater violence among iraqi factions and embolden radical islamists around the world war he goes on to say the war between iraqi factions would intensify the demonstration of american impotence would embolden radical islamism and fur to further radicalize its disciples from in in these un india to the suburbs of european capitals what america in the world need is not unilateral withdrawal but a vision by the administration of a sustainable political into the conflict as i said before withdrawals must go grow out of a political solution not the other way around the shias in the sunni's and the kurd they need the buckhurst of a diplomatic process that could provide international support for carrying out any internal agreements reached or contain a conflict if the turn a parties cannot agree and iraq breaks up the american goal should be an international agreement regarding the international disavow iraq it would test whether the neighbors of iraq as well as some more political more distant countries are prepared to translate general concepts into converging policies that would provide a legal and political framework for resist violations these are the meaningful benchmarks against which to test american would draws he goes on to point out that turkey has repeatedly emphasized it would resist to break up by force because of the radicalizing impact that a kurdish state could have on turkey's large kurdish population that this would bring turkey and on wanted conflict with the united states and open a pandora's box of other interventions saudi arabia and jordan dread shiite domination of iraq especially if the baghdad regime threats to become a satellite of iran various gulf shakedowns the largest of which is quaked find themselves in an even more threatened position syria's attitudes are likely to be more ambivalent its ties to iran represent both a claim to status and a looming vulnerability human wise and determined american diplomacy even iran may be brought to conclude that the risks of continued turmoil outweigh the temptations before it mr president goes on to talk about a multilateral framework and a forum for such an effort already exists in the foreign ministers conference that met recently a charm al shaykh and it's in united states interest to turn the conference into a working enterprise und discrete american leadership mr president goes on to say neither the international system nor american public opinion will accept as a permanent arrangement an american enclave maintained exclusively by american military power in seoul volatile region secretary kissinger is correct i believe that he's correct when he bases the premise that precipitous withdrawal would produce a disaster many of my colleagues would like to believe that should any of the various amendments forcing withdrawal become law it would mark the end of this long after they are wrong should the congress for suppresive this withdrawal from iraq would mark a new beginning start of a new more dangerous more ar s effort to contain the forces on leech by are just some gauge my our efforts in iraq today are critical to the wider struggle against violent islamic extremists and already the terrorists are embolden excited that america is talking not about winning in iraq but is rather debating when we should lose last week i am in awe so i will hear e al qaeda as deputy chief said that the united states is merely delaying money flowing to al qaeda following the soviet withdrawal from afghanistan if they defeat the united states in iraq they will believe that anything is possible that history is on their side and that they really can bring their terrible rules to lands the world over we call the plan laid out in a letter from zawahiri tabu most sob or khalid before his death that plan is to take shape in four stages establish a cali in iraq extend the jihad wave to the secular countries neighboring iraq clash with israel none of which will commence until the completion of stage one expel the americans from iraq president's the terrorists are in this war to win it the question is are we would going before there is a stable and legitimate iraqi authority would turn iraq into a failed state and a terrorist sanctuary in the heart of the middle east we've seen a failed state emerge after us disengagement once before and it cost us terrible pre nine eleven afghanistan terrorist found sanctuary to train plan attacks with impunity we know that today there are terrorists in iraq were planning attacks against americans i don't think we should make this mistake twice we also know was opposed to the invasion the rack in the first place and said quote the costs of staying are visible the costs of getting out are almost never discussed if we get out before rock the entire middle east region might start to resemble iraq today getting out is not a solution i want to buy my great heroes and role models in a person who i've had the great honor of getting to know and brace its title of his pieces leave iraq and brace for a bigger bloodbath in his statement he talks about about the truth is that in totalitarian regimes there are no human rights period the media do not criticize the government parliaments don't check executive power courts don't uphold due process and human rights groups don't file reports he talks about the moral divide that separate societ which people are slaves from societies in which people are free some human rights groups undermine the very cause they claim to champion he says consider one two thousand and five analyst in the amnesty international report on iraq last climate of the first months after hussein's overthrow reports of kidnapping rapes and killing of women girls by criminal gangs rose iraqi officers at a police station in baghdad said in june two thousand and three that the number of report rapes were substantially higher than before the war the implication was that human rate rights may not really be improving in post the same iraq but the organization ignored the possibility that reports of rape of police stations may  increased for the simple reason that under her saying it was the regime which included the police that was doing a raid he goes on to say a precipitous withdrawal of u s forces could lead to a bloodbath that would make the current carnage pale by comparison i'm quoting from natan sharansky without u s troops in place to quell some of the violence iranian backed shiite militias would dramatically increase their attacks on sunni sunni militias backed by the saudis or others would retaliate in kind drawing more and more of iraq into a vicious cycle of violence if iraq descended into full blown civil war the chaos could trigger similar clashes throughout the region as sunni shiite tensions spill across iraq's borders the death toll and the displacement of civilians could climb exponentially he says perhaps the greatest irony of the political debate over without considering what might follow in this respect the debate over iraq is beginning to look a lot like the debate about the vietnam war in the one nine hundred sixty s and seventy's then to the argument in the united states focus primarily on whether u s forces should pull out but many who supported that withdrawal in the name of human rights did not perceive the calamity that followed which included genocide in cambodia tens of thousands slaughtered in viet nam by the north vietnamese and the tragedy of hundreds of thousands of boat people as president was transferred lives in the neighborhood was to sharansky understands the meaning of the word freedom should we leave iraq before there is a basic level of stability will invite further reigning in rainy and influence at a time when iranian operatives are already moving weapons training fighters providing resources in helping plan operations to kill american soldiers and damage our efforts to bring stability to iraq iran will comfortably step into the power vacuum left by a us withdrawal and such an aggrandizement a fundamentalist power has great potential to spark greater sunni shia conflict across the region leaving prematurely would induce iraq's neighbors including saudi arabia and jordan egypt israel turkey and others to feel their own security eroding and may well induce them to act in ways that prompt wider instability the potential for genocide wider war fire in the eye spiraling oil prices and the perception of them are of strategic american defeat is real this fight is about ira not about iraq alone it's greater than that and more important still about whether america still has the political courage to fight the victory or whether we will settle for defeat with all of the terrible things t we cannot walk away gracefully from defeat in this war general petraeus and his commanders believe that they have a strategy that can over time lead to success in iraq general petraeus and ambassador ryan crocker will come to washington in september report on the status of their efforts and those of the iraqis they asked us to facts of us the time necessary to see whether their efforts can succeed and the political courage to support them in their work i believe we should give them both a present i know that senators are tired of this war tired of the mounting death toll tired of the many mistakes we've made in this war and the great effort it requires to reverse the tired of the wars politicization and the degree to which it has become embroiled in partisan struggles and election strategies i understand this fatigue and yet i maintain that we as elected leaders with a duty to our people and the security of their nation cannot let fatigue dictate our policies soldiers i met last week have no illusions about the sacrifices necessary to achieve their mission on july fourth i had the great privilege to be present as five hundred eighty eight troops re enlisted in the military and another one hundred sixty one were naturalized as u s citizens tragically two of those who were scheduled to be hardships made in our name they have completed tour after tour and i have ordered please go to please the senators speaking they could we have order in the gallery please up there please order i thank you madam president i have completed tour after tour away from their families risking everything everything for the security of this country they do so because they understand that however great the cost of this war costs are immeasurably greater still if we abandon it prematurely all they ask is that we support them in their noble mission i wish we had planned to fight this war correctly the first time but we can no more turn back the clock to two thousand and three and then we can wish away the consequences of defeat by imposing some artificial deadline for withdrawal last week in iraq i met the bravest men and women our country has to offer and not one of them told me that it was time to go but that the cause is lost they are frustrated with the iraqi government's lack of progress they are buffeted by the winds of partisanship in washington talking today of surges and tomorrow of withdrawal voting to confirm general petraeus and then voting for a course that guarantees defeat but in the end they know that the war in iraq is part of a larger struggle of moderation and stability against the forces of violence and extremism they recognize that if we simply pack up and leave the war doesn't end it merely gets harder ma president finally i'd like to just a couple of quotes general lynch who is the third id commander of u s forces says pulling out before the mission was accomplished would be a mass we find the enemy greinke we gaining ground reestablish sanctuaries building more id's in the violence would escalate general toni's anthony zinni one of my particular heroes said who oppose the war in iraq reality is that we cannot simply pull out of iraq as much as we may want to the consequences of a destabilized and chaotic iraq sitting in the center of a critical region of the world could have catastrophic implications there is no short term solution it will take years to stabilize iraq how many i believe at least five to seven in the baker hamilton report there's a lot of selective quoting but i'd like to point out that they said because of the importance of iraq the potential for catastrophe in the role and commitment of the united states in negotiating events that have led to the current situation we believe it would be wrong for the united states to abandon the country through a perception it would draw of troops and support a premature american departure from iraq would almost certainly produce greater sectarian violence and further deterioration of conditions leading to a number of adverse consequences outlined above the near term results would be a significant power vacuum greater human suffering regional destabilization a threat to the global economy al qaeda would effect our withdrawal as a storage victory if we leave generac the sands into chaos a long range consequences could eventually require the united states to return that's page thirty of the iraq study group report findings the president i understand i believe very well how difficult this issue is for many of our members i know the sorrow and the casualties that are incurred by these brave young people i would embrace it tomorrow part of this debate is going to be proposals that people have made about how we can best leave and i intend in vigorous discussion and debate and i would like to again begin this debate by pointing out that i respect the views of my colleagues on this issue i understand their frustration i intend to bring respectful of their views and i hope that we can have a debate and discussion on this issue as we consider various amendments that will better inform the american people of both points of view on this issue and i hope over time that i'm president that somehow we can find a way to come together in this body and in this nation because this war has divided this nation in a in the most terrible way i saw it once before i saw it once before a long time ago and i saw defeated military and i saw how long it took a military that was defeated to recover and i saw a divided nation a set by assassinations and riots and a breakdown in a civil society that's why we need i in my view to try to come to go i don't know how we do that but to try to come together in the most recent beginning with respecting each other's views and so that we can come together and hopefully in the tragedy of iraq and at the same time ensure america's security a of you saying a lot more on this issue as we continue the debate and i say again i respect the views of my colleagues and finally i would like to again pay my compliments to the distinguished chairman of the committee who put together the senator from michigan to recognize i think senator mccain for his great generosity in terms of his comments about the committee in the operations of our committee as he well knows our committee's had a great tradition of bipartisanship he's made a major contribution always to that tradition as ranking member he has more than continued that tradition has made a major contribution to it and to the bill that is before us  the bipartisan flavor of that bill and while there obviously are and will be differences which are understandable and appropriate as he well points out this is a bill that had unanimous support in the committee we in the next week or so will be hearing the differences on issues including iraq and that's totally what we're we're all about and we express our feelings in a civil way and in a strong way and i just want to add my thanks to him for his contribution the for so many decades going back and when he speaks about the situation we're in in iraq he speaks with not only gray feeling that also with great experience and i think every member of this body treasures our relationship with senator mccain and the experience that he brings to this debate and i think he has the commitment i hope of everybody in his body that the debate as we proceed relative to iraq or any other issues in this week and next that will proceed in a very civil way this issue requires all of the wisdom that we can muster all of the experiences of various members and  for his great contribution to this bill that a president i would ask unanimous consent that the congressional budget office cost estimate of the senate version of the national defense authorization act for fiscal year two thousand and eight which was not available when the report on that bill is fifteen forty seven was filed the included in the record at this point without objection so ordered and madam president i would ask unanimous consent that following the remarks of the senator from hawaii on this side of the aisle that the order then be senator biden and senator boxer without objection so ordered senator from hawaii to recognize  ordered not to rise and i would like to thank chairman levin and ranking member mccain for their leadership and working in a bipartisan fashion unanimously pass the national defense authorization act for fiscal year two thousand and eight out of committee and i would also like to thank my ranking member of has already highlighted this bill includes a three point five percent across the board pay raise for all uniform personnel adds four billion dollars for the president's budget for mine resistant vehicles to protect our troops in iraq and afghanistan and also authorizes fiscal year two thousand and eight end strength for the army and marine corps of five hundred twenty five thousand four hundred and one hundred eighty nine thousand respectively an increase of thirteen thousand for the army and nine thousand for the marine corps and supports the transformation of olen forces to meet the threats of the twenty first century forces and this legislation we are providing support to projects and programs that are important to the residents of the army navy air force and marines both active and reserve components and this regard one hundred eighty eight point four billion dollars is authorized to meet the services operation and maintenance requirements to support the combat operations improve the readiness of deploying and nandi prod deployed forces and to support the army and marine corps plans to increase their fiscal year two thousand and eight and strengths madam president i believe that all of us here in the senate are concerned that our military forces have what they need to be trained and ready but i am particularly concerned about the retinas while ground forces this legislation before us today fully finance the army and marine corps request for depo level maintenance i am encouraged that neither the army nor marine corps identified a shortage of funds depo maintenance well the chief of naval operations did bring this to this committee's attention a funding shortfall for navy aircraft epo maintenance for we approved an increase of seventy seven million dollars in addition we included four point eight billion dollars for the procurement of ammunition  types to spot the services war fighting training and wall reserve requirements with regard to the panel defenses management and acquisition policy i am particularly pleased that this bill includes a provision requiring for the first time the department of defense have a chief management officer the  comptroller general is still the members of this committee on numerous occasions that their department needs to do this to ensure that the department's many high risk areas get that top level management attention they deserve other important acquisition reform provisions included in this bill are as follows a provision that would provide the resources that deal d provision that would ensure that our commanders on the battlefield have the authority that they need to establish rules for armed contractors in an area of combat operations provision establishing guidelines it's for d o d to use in determining whether savings are substantial for the purpose of justifying martyre year contracts who has significant acquisition experience corrosion prevention and control programs corrosion is a costly problem in fact it is one of the largest costs and the lifecycle of weapon systems in addition corrosion reduces military readiness as a need to repair or replace corrosion damage increases the down time of critical military assets consequently i firmly believe that cohesive erosion control programs are entered world to maintaining military readiness this critical maintenance activity increases the life of multimillion dollar weapon systems and ensures they're available to during times of crisis effective corrosion control should be made a key component of the department of defense's reset things strategy and funds for to be allocated accordingly this legislation also includes mine legislation establish a national language council to develop a long term and comprehensive language strategy and over see the implementation of that  theirs will ensure that the administration's current efforts to promote foreign language competency will develop into an organized and concerted effort to improve the nation's foreign language capabilities we also make a valuable and important investment in our infrastructure by providing an additional four hundred sixty one million dollars above the budget requests to repair or replace and modernize our aging defense purcell at ease and approve the quality of life and the productivity of our military furthermore we make a true commitment to provide quality health care for all beneficiaries including authorizing twenty four point six billion dollars for the defense health program committee any member of the armed services committee i am able to look at the issue of seamless transition from military to civilian life from two different perspectives and at the appropriate time i'll be offering an amendment to the underlying bill to improve care specifically for veterans my friend and coll to deal with the v a s response to traumatic brain injuries also known as t b i and known as invisible wounds that amendment our would be offering includes provisions a heart of my amendment although improvements to t b i care ranking member cory and i worked on these traumatic brain injury provisions and they have garnered the support of many organizations including the american academy of neurology the brain injury association of america and the disabled american veterans a was caught flatfooted by the large number of devastating t b i cases resulting from the conflicts in iraq and afghanistan my amendment individual rehabilitation plans for veterans with traumatic brain injury and authorizes the use of non v a facilities for the best t b i treatment available the amendment also requires much more research and education for severe t b i we have even developed a pilot program for assisted living services for veterans with t my amendment would also extend the period of automatic eligibility bill for v a health care from two to five years for service members returning from combat to civilian life in addition this amendment requires preliminary and mental health evaluation be conducted within thirty days of a service member's request finally ongoing global operations have utilize the reserve components on an unprecedented scale when these citizen soldiers re essential that v a include them in their outreach efforts to recognize the importance of national guard and reserve and to acknowledge their contribution to the nation's efforts my amendment redefines v a s definition by specifically including them in the outreach program as president of the senate armed services fake and bold and necessary steps in this legislation that will provide the necessary funds and management reforms required to support our servicemen and women president senator from michigan senator biden was to be recognized next i don't see him on the floor at this moment so let me just note the absence of record for a few moments and a few does not arise and i will man president senator from california is recognized this is just a parliamentary inquiry i understand the senate of the senate is a quorum call be dispensed with without objection and learned thank you ma'am president the parliamentary inquiry i understand i was supposed to speak after senator biden but he had told me before he left the floor that if he wasn't here that i could reverse the order and i wonder if senator levin would give me permission to do that is there i think my good friend california no objection on it without objection so ordered thank you so much madam president this is a very important week for this country as we bring the issue of iraq back to the senate floor and listen to the american people who are very clear they want this war to end they want the troops to come home they know that our servicemen and women have given everything there is to give and more they know that the policies that we have followed in iraq since day one have backfired and they are looking to us and if i might say where we are in this debate in this united states senate in my opinion is between talk and action it is very easy to talk and say oh we need a change we must have a change it's important that we have a change and call press conferences and say we need a change it's time for change but let's see how people vote will they vote for sense of the senate that has absolutely no force of law that says it is the sense of the senate that we should change course or will they vote to start re deploying our troops out of the middle of a civil war out of chaos man president you know that i represent the largest state in the union and we are taking a major hit we have lost hundreds and hundreds of soldiers we see thousands injured from our state we see a  guard that doesn't have the equipment that we have to have some reports are the equipment is down fifty percent ones that means it means if god forbid there's an earthquake fire all the things we have to deal with in my beautiful state who's going to protect the people how much longer can we afford the bloodshed the dollars we are now told twelve billion dollars a month in iraq madam president you and i share a lot of common interests one of them is for example to make sure that our kids can go to after school care because that's the time they get in trouble that's a high risk time you know what it would cost to fund after school care to the level that it's supposed to be at according to no child left behind three billion dollars a year we're funding it  one billion millions of kids are on the streets we spent twelve billion dollars in iraq in one month but we cannot find a couple of billion in a year for our children we can't find the money to insure our children to protect their health oh no we don't have the money for that the president is going to veto this bill and veto that bill he can help the farmers we can't do this we can't do that over twelve billion dollars in iraq no problem no problem madam president to say his reputation save him from having to prove to the world that he was wrong well it's one thing to have an argument with someone and have pride and say you know i'm not going to med i made a mistake it's another thing when people are dying because of your  three days now in november two thousand and six the american people voted against the iraq war they elected democrats they want this war to end they want this mission end they don't want our troops in the middle of a civil war getting killed and getting made getting post traumatic stress getting brain injuries that are the signature injury of this war we will be dealing with the problems of this war for decades to come anyone who lived through vietnam knows that if you go on the streets today and look at who the homeless are you know they are half of them are veterans most of those from viet nam who never got over the experience that's why senator lieberman and i have worked together to try and get the people who are coming back the mental health care that they need senator lieberman i do not agree on this war we are polar opposites on this war but let me tell you we're working together to get these troops the mental health care they need their marriages are breaking up they can't sleep at night they're having trouble with their employers we have so many problems the american people expect us to fix it i see that my friend senator biden is on the floor and i would tell him i will go about another ten minutes but now that my friend is on the floor senator biden is the senator who is look ahead to it said there is a light at the end of the tunnel he has put forward a plan and he put it forward a long time ago for a diplomatic solution here because there is no military solution how many more explosive devices are going to blow up in the faces of our troops before we start bringing them home how many more iraq is of going to die where men children how many more faces are we going to look at on the front page before we get the guts to do the right thing the president doesn't listen he didn't listen after the election oh he said he did he said he had a new strategy what was it the s the surge is not a new strategy it's a military tactic and it isn't working here's what the president's that after he sent in day more than twenty thousand additional troops he said over time we can expect to see fewer brazen acts of terror growing trust and cooperation from baghdad's residen and when this happens our president said daily life will improve iraqis will gain confidence in their leaders and the government will have the breathing space it needs to make progress in other critical areas wrong the president was wrong again the washington post reported on sunday quote the iraqi government is unlikely to meet any of the political and security goals or time lines the president set for it in january and today the a p associated press reports iraq fails to meet all reform goals not even one goal w our people are dying and they can't meet one goal the violence continues unabated since the president made his speech on january tenth after the election when he said there was going to be a new strategy five hundred and ninety u s servicemen and women have been killed a hundred and seven of will did not live to see their twenty first birthday what kind of change that that this president brought the average number of daily attacks by insurgents and militias has not dropped below one hundred fifty per day in baghdad alone there been an average of fifty insurgent attacks a day over the weekend more than a hundred and fifty iraqis were killed in one single bombing these bombings are not isolated events in june alone there were thirty nine bombings in iraq that resulted in multiple faith tallaght the number of suicide attacks more than doubled in iraq since the surge began from twenty six in january to fifty eight in april what kind of new strategy is that if that's the new strategy it's worse than the other one the average number of iraqi civilians killed has risen to more than one hundred per day the who are all saying you have to have a political solution and the administration is spelling on the reconstruction front iraq eve with being in baghdad still receive an average of five point six hours of electricity the president can't even keep the lights on let alone succeed in this search now yesterday tony snow said quote the president wants to withdraw troops based on the facts on the ground not on the matter of politics but i say to tony snow lections have consequences when you lost in two thousand and six and the issue was iraq and the policies on the ground are not working they're failing so whether you listen to politics or what's happening on the ground the answer is the same on february one tony snow described the surge in this ways quote we're talking about significant economic development effort significant political risk re conciliation these are the kinds of things we expect to see well they haven't seen them so we know the president is going to address the american people i would say the president tell the truth to the american people lay out what you expected and then lay out the reality and start getting the troops home we have not seen these improvements and that our military is at the breaking point just wasn't a retired generals they don't have to toe the line they tell the truth nearly ninety percent of army national guard units in the u s are rated not ready largely as a result of shortfalls in equipment that jeopardize their capability to respond to crisis in my home and abroad as i mentioned in my home state our equipment is down fifty percent so who's going to be responsible when we have a disaster i say to the president who's going to be responsible the same people that have brought us to iraq are going to bring us a crisis yes in our state we already saw what happened in katrina from incompetence let's match incompetence and lack of equipment and see what happens then what about iraqi forces on january eleventh secretary gates said we're going to know pretty early on whether the iraqis are meeting their military commitments he said we know pretty early on well the answer is they're not meeting their military commitment after this weekend's violence senior iraqi officials called on iraqi civilian arm themselves and fight insurgents that from the government they're not telling the people this government will protect you the americans have trained three hundred thousand of us where ready to protect you know the answer is arm yourself so that when the insurgents break down your door you can kill them before they kill you what the situation the iraqi vice president said the people have no choice but to take up their own defense we need to chart a new course on iraq today as senator lugar has said quote persisting indefinitely with the surge strategy will delay policy adjustments that have a better chance of protecting our vital interests over the long term senator lugar but the administration does not seem willing to chart a new course on the front page of today's washington post the headline is g o p the sense first change in message but not course that's another way of of i think confusing the subject you get up and give a great speech and then you vote against anything that has any teeth in it you vote for something that says it's the sense of the thing that things aren't going well rather then it's time to change this myth can to get our troops out of the middle of the civil war to make sure that what they're doing is yet training the iraqi soldiers that by going after al qaeda that's fine protecting our forces that's fine but get them out of there get most of them out is the a change in message will not prevent the deaths of more americans and will not salvage the president's failed policy over the next two weeks we will have the opportunity to debate several amendments that will mandate a change of course on iraq i urge my colleagues as strongly as i can as someone who has stood up here time and time again and said we're making mistakes to finally admit it but not just admitted do something about it that's what we have to do we have to change the reality of what's happening as the experts have told us over and over again what are we doing here we're in the middle of a civil war we're neglecting the war on terror we've said oh we're fighting the terrorists are there we'll stop them from coming here that's what tony blair said it didn't stop anything this is a recruitment tool for al qaeda iraq is a recruitment tool for al qaeda peter bergen said that a long time ago when we went into iraq and he's an expert on the middle east i don't want to recruit al qaeda i want to go after them i voted to go after them after nine eleven i didn't vote to change course and go in another direction or regime change based on faulty information faulty intelligence so this we connect will find out who taught in the senate and who is willing to take action in the senate and i hope the american people will look at the amendments were voting on and at the bottom line i understand which ones are just talk and which ones will actually result in redeployment the troops out of the civil war who wants to watch vs who talks the talk action means a deadline action means you change the mission action means you start bringing the troops home action doesn't mean a change in methods but not a change of course reshuffling the chairs on the deck of the titanic is not what we should be doing we need to change course now i have spoken with mothers and fathers who have lost sons and daughters and they have begged me in the most cheerful way to spare other families what they are going through now if this war was working that would be one thing but there is no military solution here we need to listen to what our chairman of the foreign relations committee is saying about a political solution about separating the warring parties about bringing in the nations of the region and doing it now before another soldier is blown up or breaks up with his wife because of the strength before another child has no data or mom and the time is now the time is now i am so glad that we are going to be doing the defense authorization bill and have our opportunity to actually put our ideas into action and i w supporting every single men that will result in a change of course accountability starting to bring the troops home so i thank you very much ma'am president thank the senator from delaware for allowing me to go before he goes and i would yield the floor at this time senator from arizona  senator from arizona and i'm president i certainly appreciate the passion of the senator from california and her concern for the men and women who are serving in the military and those who have sacrificed a great deal already but the fact is according to lee hamilton according to henry kissinger according to your nose in a according to literally most every n all most every respected national security expert in this country will edge that we'll have a lot more casualties center from california's concern about casualties as emotional and well founded and very moving i'm moved by the fact i'm moved by the fact that henry kissinger really hamilton congress should drop six deadlines for the withdrawal of u s forces as commander in chief the president needs flexibility on troop drawls he will accept no bill as a timeline or a fixed date for withdrawal of american people have the war in iraq figured out they know american troops cannot settle a wrecked sectarian conflict they gravelle now one of the candidates for president on states we come back to the argument of protecting american forces quote it's simple take the forces out and we don't have any problem it's simple don't get into cambodia don't get involved in we do not get this get into anything yeah there was an argument on the floor of the senate about withdrawal it was a full argument that prohibited the united states from being robbed in cambodia three million people were slaughtered one of the great acts of genocide in in modern history yeah we cared about america american casualties after viet nam and we would drew in the north it and these attacked and millions of people got on boats thousands were killed in reeducation camps and thousands were executed i've seen this movie before madam president i've seen this movie before from the liberal left in protecting american forces and simple take the forces out we don't have any problem it's simple to not get into cambodia do not get involved and then we do not get into