John McCain’s remarks with Lieberman and Graham regarding President Obama’s decision to appoint General Petraeus commander in Afghanistan VIDEO

“We applaud the decision of the President of the United States to ask General Petraeus to go serve again in defense of our nation. We think there is no one more qualified or more outstanding leader than General Petraeus to achieve a successful conclusion of the Afghan conflict. We praise the service of General McChrystal and thank him for his service to our nation and wish him well, every success in the future. We are confident that General Petraeus' leadership will have a very positive effect on the situation in the region.”

“We know there's tough sledding ahead. … The concern that we have is, and the issue that will be raised in General Petraeus' confirmation hearings is, exactly what is meant by ‘withdrawal in the middle of 2011,’ whether that is ‘etched in stone’ as the President's spokesperson … stated or whether it will be conditions based. Obviously, we feel strongly it needs to be condition based because if you tell the enemy when you are leaving, then obviously it has an adverse effect on your ability to succeed. So that is a major concern and there's a great deal of ambiguity about that issue. I'm convinced that we can succeed in Afghanistan with the leadership and the talent of the young men and women who are serving, but we have to send the message that we will do whatever is necessary in order to achieve success. ... The withdrawal of U.S. troops must be based on conditions at the time, not on an arbitrary date.” – Senator John McCain

TEXT CREDIT: United States Senator John McCain United States Senate, 241 Russell Senate Ofc. Bldg. Washington, DC 20510, Main: (202) 224-2235, Fax: (202) 228-2862

VIDEO CREDIT: SenatorJohnMcCain

Howard P. “Buck” McKeon's Statement on President Obama's decision to relieve General Stanley McChrystal

Washington, D.C.—U.S. Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.), the Ranking Member of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, today released the following statement in response to the President’s decision to relieve General Stanley McChrystal of command in Afghanistan and replace him with General David Petraeus, the current commander of U.S. Central Command:

“We are at a critical time in our Afghanistan campaign with our troops engaged in tough fighting throughout the country. While the current situation is unfortunate, our focus must remain on the mission at hand: defeating al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and their extremist allies.

“The counterinsurgency strategy our troops are implementing in Afghanistan remains strong. I believe the appointment of General Petraeus will ensure continuity in this effort. In Iraq, he proved that a counterinsurgency campaign can work and is well prepared to do the same in Afghanistan.

“Now is the time for the President, as Commander-in-Chief, to exert stronger leadership over the course of the war. By focusing more on the effort, everybody—from the top commanders and diplomats to the warfighters and civilian professionals in the field—will know that he is engaged and singularly focused on winning.

“I encourage the President to recommit his entire Afghanistan-Pakistan team to the seriousness of purpose at hand. This will allow the President to reassure our troops and diplomats, and their families, that he has a cohesive team committed to providing the time and resources they need to win in Afghanistan.

“Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank General McChrystal for his decades-long service to our country and for his counsel to Congress on both Iraq and Afghanistan.” ###

TEXT and PHOTO CREDIT: June 23, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Lindsey Mask Washington, D.C. Office Congressman Howard P. Buck McKeon U.S. House of Representatives 2184 Rayburn HOB Washington, D.C. 20515 ph: (202) 225-1956 fax: (202) 226-0683