Johnny Isakson, United States Senator from Georgia


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, August 1, 2007 Isakson on Iraq: ‘ We Need to Be Prepared for Victory, Not Invested in Defeat’ WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today today spoke on the Senate floor in support of U.S. efforts in Iraq and the War on Terror, highlighting some of the recent good news coming out of Iraq and stressing that it is critical for Congress to believe that victory is possible in Iraq. “A lot of brave young men and women in America have invested their lives in the chance for us to win a victory, not for ourselves but for mankind, for civility, for peace, for democracy, and for all the principles upon which this country was founded,” Isakson said. “We need to be prepared for victory, not invested in defeat.” President Bush recently sent nearly 30,000 additional troops to Iraq as part of a strategy to help the Iraqi government assume more control and more accountability for securing the country. Isakson cited an article published today in The Christian Science Monitor that shows that U.S. troop fatalities in Iraq have decreased dramatically over the past two months. The article also notes that the number of deaths attributed to improvised explosive devices is down by more than half, violence is down in the four most dangerous Iraqi provinces and the number of deaths among Iraqi security forces and civilians also has dropped. General David Petraeus, who leads the Multinational Forces-Iraq Command, is expected to deliver a progress report to Congress on the president’s new strategy in mid-September. Isakson believes Congress must give the recent increases in troops a chance to work before advocating a change in strategy in Iraq. “I hope we won't declare failure when we have the opportunity to succeed,” Isakson said. “I hope for those that have been invested in the possibility we will fail, that this'll get equally invested in the probability or possibility that we will succeed and that together as a Congress we can re reward those who fought so valiantly and see to it that one more democracy is born.” ###
E-mail: http://isakson.senate.gov/contact.cfm Washington: United States Senate, 120 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510 Tel: (202) 224-3643 Fax: (202) 228-0724 Atlanta: One Overton Park, 3625 Cumberland Blvd, Suite 970, Atlanta, GA 30339 Tel: (770) 661-0999 Fax: (770) 661-0768

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Isakson on Iraq: ‘ We Need to Be Prepared for Victory, Not Invested in Defeat’

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today today spoke on the Senate floor in support of U.S. efforts in Iraq and the War on Terror, highlighting some of the recent good news coming out of Iraq and stressing that it is critical for Congress to believe that victory is possible in Iraq.

“A lot of brave young men and women in America have invested their lives in the chance for us to win a victory, not for ourselves but for mankind, for civility, for peace, for democracy, and for all the principles upon which this country was founded,” Isakson said. “We need to be prepared for victory, not invested in defeat.”

President Bush recently sent nearly 30,000 additional troops to Iraq as part of a strategy to help the Iraqi government assume more control and more accountability for securing the country. Isakson cited an article published today in The Christian Science Monitor that shows that U.S. troop fatalities in Iraq have decreased dramatically over the past two months. The article also notes that the number of deaths attributed to improvised explosive devices is down by more than half, violence is down in the four most dangerous Iraqi provinces and the number of deaths among Iraqi security forces and civilians also has dropped.

General David Petraeus, who leads the Multinational Forces-Iraq Command, is expected to deliver a progress report to Congress on the president’s new strategy in mid-September. Isakson believes Congress must give the recent increases in troops a chance to work before advocating a change in strategy in Iraq.

“I hope we won't declare failure when we have the opportunity to succeed,” Isakson said. “I hope for those that have been invested in the possibility we will fail, that this'll get equally invested in the probability or possibility that we will succeed and that together as a Congress we can re reward those who fought so valiantly and see to it that one more democracy is born.”

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E-mail: http://isakson.senate.gov/contact.cfm

Washington: United States Senate, 120 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-3643 Fax: (202) 228-0724
Atlanta: One Overton Park, 3625 Cumberland Blvd, Suite 970, Atlanta, GA 30339
Tel: (770) 661-0999 Fax: (770) 661-0768