A Report From Iraq (Rep. Peter King)

So far we’ve met with the General for National Force, we’ve met with diplomatic people, we’ve spoken to troops on the ground and I would say that there is a strong unanimous consensus that General Petraeus is on target. Then again, we are doing a lot over the next couple days; however, I just want to report that so far it has been very productive.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised because it has been the general consensus among the diplomatic people that the Maliki government is actually more receptive and more conscious on what it has to do. I know that Ambassador Crocker testified to that in Washington, and talking to people on the majority level they all seemed to be saying that yes Maliki gets the message and realizes what has to be done. Maliki has been much more responsive with the general feeling in Washington, there seems to have been a lot of local cooperation especially between Shiites and Sunnis working together. Of course future success depends on that cooperation. The considerable political progress like we’ve seen in Anbar Province might well make its way up, which may take a while but also may make an affect.