Senate Clinton: Thank you Mr. Chairman and thank you very much general for your lifetime of service and for taking on this very difficult assignment. I want to begin by associating my remarks with those of Senator Collins. We are in a dire situation, using your adjective, in part because the Congress was supine under the Republican majority, failing to conduct oversight and demanding accountability, and because the President and his team, particularly the former Secretary of Defense, refused to adapt to the changing circumstances on the ground. If this hearing were being held three years ago, I would have a much higher degree of optimism. It has nothing to do with the loyalty, the warrior skills and the leadership of our men and women in uniform. It has everything to do with the years of lost opportunities and the failures of the Iraqis to step up and take responsibility for their own future.

It appears also General, that the strategy that is being put forth here inspires skepticism for good reason. Your manual-- the Army-Marine Corps counterinsurgency manual-- as we have already discussed, not only suggests a minimum force level of approximately 120,000, but the manual places great importance on building up internal institutions and training to provide security. This escalation, despite the rhetoric about other goals, places primary emphasis on American military involvement, not Iraqi institutions. The manual makes clear the interconnections of political and military progress that one cannot be achieved without the other.

I’ve been quite gratified to hear about all the positive references to Bosnia in this hearing. I can remember very well in 2001 and 2002 hearing nothing but derision about nation building and about peacekeeping and about sufficient levels of force going in to back up whatever the political objectives might be. You will take on a difficult role in Iraq, in a time of peril, based on your leadership and expertise. But what those of us who are issuing resolutions and statements of disapproval fear, is that you are being sent to administer a policy that frankly does not reflect your experience or advice or the experience and advice of our most recent example in dealing with ethnic violence, mainly Bosnia. You wrote the book, General, but the policy is not by the book. And you are being asked to square the circle, to find a military solution to a political crisis. I, among others on this committee, have put forward ideas about disapproving the escalation not because we, in anyway, embrace failure or defeat, but because we are trying to get the attention of our government and the government of Iraq.

On my recent trip to Iraq, along with Senator Bayh, our interaction with the Prime Minister and his team did not inspire confidence. What I, speaking for myself, am attempting to do is to send a very clear message to the Iraqi government that they cannot rely on the blood and treasure of America any longer. That we are not going to go into Baghdad and embed our young men and women in very dangerous neighborhoods where we cannot possibly provide force protection because they [the Iraqi government] won’t step up and do what everyone knows what they must do for themselves. So I, very sincerely, but whole-heartedly disagree with those who are trying to once again up the rhetoric about our position in Iraq instead of taking a hard look about what will actually, on the ground, change the behavior and actions of this Iraqi government. In the absence of the kind of political full-court press that we put on in Bosnia-- when I landed in Tuzla, I was briefed by Russians, French, Germans, and Americans. We had an international force, we had an international commitment, we had brought people to the point where they understood that success there was essential to their national security. I see nothing coming from this Administration that it is willing to pursue such a policy now. They won’t talk to bad people, and it is bad people you talk to, in order to try to further political goals, not your friends. They will not put the kind of pressure on a consistent basis on the [Iraqi] government that is required in order to change their behavior. So I have said that I would never cut money for our troops when they’re in harms way. But I would sure threaten to cut money for the Iraqi troops and for the security for the Iraqi leadership. I don’t know how else to get their attention.

But one thing I am particularly concerned about is the failure of security for the troops. The incident in Karbala over the weekend is scary. It raises questions that we don’t have answers to. So let me, beyond my statement of joining in the comments of Senator Collins and rejecting those of our other friends on the panel who think that statements of disapproval are somehow going to undermine our effort, when I think they will send the clearest message. We know this policy is going forward. We know the troops are moving. We know that we are likely to not stop this escalation. But we are going to do everything we can to send a message to our government and the Iraqi government that they had better change, because the enemy we are confronting is adaptable. It is intelligent. It learns. It got a hold of our military uniforms, went through those gates after clearing all those police checkpoints, killed five of our soldiers in a meeting talking about security in Iraq. So I don’t believe we are playing with a team on the other side that understands the stakes as we describe them.

So the one thing that I would ask General is, please do everything you can to get additional security. The Humvees are turning into death traps, as we see the sophistication of the IEDs. We don’t have enough of the mine protection vehicles and we haven’t even ordered enough and we haven’t put them into the theater. If we’re going to put these soldiers and marines into these very exposed positions, which this strategy calls for, please come to us; ask for whatever you need to try to provide maximum protection. I disapprove of policy. I think it is a dead end. It continues the blank check, but if we’re going to do it, then let’s make sure we have every possible piece of equipment and resource necessary to protect these young men and women that we’re asking to go out and put this policy forward when we’re not doing the political side of the equation that is necessary to maximize the chance for their safety and success.

General Petraeus: I’ll do that Senator.