RECORD ON THE MILITARY : 

Is the military surge in Iraq working? Tim Holden doesn’t think so.

Yes, the comprehensive “surge” strategy is working very well and has been since late summer, 2007. All the significant metrics have been moving in the right direction – attacks on Coalition forces, civilian deaths, IED explosions, all have declined dramatically since last summer and disappeared in is nearly complete and national reconciliation is well underway. The Iraqi government has successfully met 15 of 18 political benchmarks. The Iraqi parliament is functioning far more smoothly than the American Congress. The surge has been a runaway good-news story. There is no more certain sign of progress in Iraq than its disappearance from American media coverage.

On the floor of the House in February, 2007, Tim Holden declared his opposition to and lack of confidence in a troop surge in Iraq, months before it launched. You can view his remarks here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt0XYmnK3ss

The following day he voted in favor of a House resolution expressing no confidence in the surge. You’ll note that Holden refers to the opinions of former commanders in Iraq whose strategies failed and who were relieved of their commands. Holden also voted to deny funding to American troops in Iraq unless the date for their departure was announced as a condition of the funding. He voted for the House Bill that would do so in March, the reconciled House/Senate bill in April and to override the president’s veto of the bill requiring American defeat in May. He also voted for a similar bill in November, 2007, after even the liberal New York Times acknowledged the success of the surge.

In our view Tim Holden voted, in order, for 1) failure, 2) surrender, 3) surrender, 4) surrender and 5) surrender.

Tim Holden is unable to admit the success and valor of American Troops in Iraq. At a speech given in Lebanon, PA in November, 2007, Holden told his audience that the surge was a failure and the only reason the surge appeared to show progress was because of ethnic cleansing. Apparently, Holden believes that the heroic sacrifice of American forces has nothing to do with progress in Iraq. Holden seems to think that the Iraqi factions simply ran out of people to kill.

What is it that has brought Tim Holden, Nancy Pelosi and Democrats in Congress so low that they would put pandering to their far left wing base and sticking it to the president ahead of our security and the safety of American troops in harms way?