It sickens me to hear the comments some Democrats are making against General Petraeus.

By attacking his character and reputation, these Democrats are attacking all of our men and women in the military.

On behalf of all these proud men and women that sacrifice their lives every day for our nation, I am here to say that these actions and accusations have no place in the public discourse.

Americans don’t attack the character of those that risk their lives to protect us. The lies, deceit, and disinformation that Democrat propaganda machines are feeding to the American public must end!

To suggest that our troops and General Petraeus are motivated by politics, rather than patriotism and love of country is wrong.

It diminishes the sacrifice that each of them and their families have made in Iraq, Afghanistan and in other places around the world.

These attacks are made by the some of the same people that voted on January 26^th to unanimously confirm General Petraues.

At this time I would like to submit for the Congressional Record Roll Call vote number 33.

You will notice in this vote that not one Senator – not one- voted against him.

During the debate on his confirmation no one questioned his integrity or ability to complete his mission; a mission the Senate gave him by confirming him.

And now nearly nine months later, how do we greet him when he’s come back to deliver a progress report on Iraq that was requested by the Democrat Congress?

Instead of thanking him for his sacrifices and listening to him deliver his report, many Democrats that voted to confirm him are either attacking his personal character or not defending him from a personal smear campaign by their allies at Move On.

And I cannot believe that this slanderous campaign started before they even heard one word of General Petraeus’ report.

I read a quote from an anonymous Democrat Senator in the Politico newspaper this morning. I want to share it with this body today.

This Democrat that did not want to give his or her name made the following statement:

"No one wants to call [Petraeus] a liar on national TV. The expectation is that the outside groups will do this for us."

I don’t even know where to begin in describing my disgust with that one. It shows that the attack on General Petraeus is a coordinated attack by Move On and its allies.

Here is just some of what my Democratic colleagues have been saying:

"I don’t think General Petraeus has an independent view."

"At the end of the day, these

are not totally independent free agents. They are an appendage of the administration."

"The fact that there are questions about General Petraeus' report is not surprising…by the general's admission, the so-called surge has not achieved its goal…"

I can’t believe these false statements have been made on the floor.

It is outrageous to condemn a unanimously confirmed General and question his patriotism for this country simply for politics sake.

I know many of my friends on the other side of the aisle are good, decent people. But I have to say I am amazed that more of them have not denounced this smear campaign.

The folks from Move On accuse General Petraeus of "cooking the books." Is this because his counterinsurgency operations and the surge in Iraq are seeing positive results?

Democrats are talking out of both sides of their mouths and its time for them to stop talking and start listening.

Instead of taking political advice from left-wing activist groups, Democrats should actually take the time to listen to General Petraeus’ report.

I cannot tell you how disgusted I was to see the full page ad in yesterday’s New York Times questioning the character of a four star general that only nine months ago had the support of this entire Senate.

These tactics are insulting and should be condemned.

In my book, the people that resort to this type of below-the-belt mudslinging are no patriots.

I know General Petraeus. He is a friend of mine and a good friend of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from his days as Commander of the 101^st Airborne Division.

He is a brave patriot of the highest moral character and has made immeasurable sacrifices for our country.

He has spent the past four years deployed from home, from his family and loved ones, overseas serving his country.

Three of these years he has spent in Iraq where he has worked tirelessly to help build security and stability throughout the country.

And his efforts are seeing positive results.

To suggest that he is driven more by politics rather than by his love for our country may possibly be the lowest political attack I have seen in my time in Congress.

In the four years that I have known him, not once did personal politics come up. I have no idea whether he is a Republican or a Democrat.

In all of our discussions, including the hour I spent with him alone in my office before he left for Iraq to implement the surge, I do not believe the word Democrat or Republican was ever used.

What I do know is that he is a great patriot.

He does not deserve to come home to be greeted by personal political attacks.

Especially by the very Democrats that asked him to come give us his report nine months ago.

Let me be clear to my Democratic colleagues, using left-wing attack groups like Move On to discredit General Petraeus is the worst of the worst.

Any politician’s willingness to sacrifice the long-term security of the United States in an attempt to salvage a short-term political career is beyond deplorable.

I will not stand for it. Our military will not stand for it.

And the American public will not stand for it.

Just yesterday a poll in the New York Times reported that 68% of Americans trust military commanders more than the Democrat Congress when it comes to Iraq policy.

The American public supports our military, its time for Congress to echo this support.

Yesterday in my office I had the opportunity to sit down one-on-one with a brave young Kentuckian that had just returned from a long deployment in one of Iraq’s hotspots.

At the end of our visit he turned to me and made one request.

He asked for Congress to support the troops. How can we expect General Petraeus and our troops to successfully complete their mission when we keep attacking them and threatening to cut off their funding?

I promised this young man my support and will continue to do all that I can to support our troops.

As we find our selves six years from the tragic events of the terrorist events that occurred on September 11^th 2001, we must not forget that there are those out there that still wish us harm.

The freedoms we enjoy today are protected by the brave men and women that serve in our Armed Forces, including General Petraeus and the young man I visited with in my office yesterday.

To all of those who suggest that General Petraeus should be called General Betray Us I have a message for you.

You are the ones betraying our troops and the American people. You are giving aid and comfort to our enemy. We used to try people that did this as traitors.

Just five months ago the Senate Democratic Majority Leader was quoted as saying, "no one wants us to succeed in Iraq more than Democrats."

Well I say to my friend the Majority Leader, stand by your words. Let’s focus on succeeding in Iraq and for once show a united support our troops.

Every night my wife, Mary, and I take a minute of silence to pray for our troops and to pray for the safety and security of our nation.

Maybe Democrats should take a moment of silence and stop criticizing our commanders and troops.

Thank you Mr. President and I yield the floor.