Senator Joe Lieberman and Senator John McCain were also at AEI to make the case for the surge in troop strength. Both are recently back from a trip to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Israel. Sen. Lieberman strongly argues that the war in Iraq is “the most hostile battlefield” in the war against Islamist extremists and “unless you decide all is lost we must do everything necessary to win.” He thinks the war is winnable, that the majority of Iraqis are fed up with the sectarian violence and that “there is a moderate coalition in the Iraqi government coming together.” He doesn’t think Congress would refuse to fund the resources that the President and the military say they need in order to prevail in Iraq. He also thinks “the increase must be robust, substantial, and sustained,” says President Bush needs our support, and that “the worst thing that could happen here is some attempt to resolve this pivotal moment with some kind of compromise.” According to the Senator, the moment calls for congressional leadership that recognizes the need for what will succeed, not what will command the greatest political support. He noted that it’s time for the President to be the president. (Kagan noted that President Bush has now taken control of his Iraq policy – “for too long the Administration has let the military leadership get it wrong.” Both Kagan and Keane believe that General Petraeus is perfectly suited for the new military mission in Iraq given his experience there and his resent responsibility for the new joint manual on counter-insurgency).

Senator McCain stressed the “catastrophic consequences of failure” and also emphatically supported a surge in troops that is “substantial and sustained.” He stated that the surge would lead to more casualties and hardships for our troops and expects the violence to get worse before it gets better. He acknowledged the resistance at the Pentagon to the surge and contrasted it with the opinions he heard from field commanders in Iraq. He also acknowledged that the Pentagon brass is right to worry about the increased strain on their limited resources, but pointed out “there is one thing worse than an overstretched military and that’s a broken and defeated military.” The elevator chatter after the event credited John McCain for his courage in bucking public opinion – the success of the surge might be far from apparent 12 months from now (it will take “several months” to put into effect), at a crucial time for the Senator.