I think the American people are not getting the full picture of what's happening here.

McCain's Baghdad tour


SEN. MCCAIN: General Petraeus goes -- General Petraeus goes to -- goes downtown almost every day, and of course he has protection, and we had protection today.

Things are getting better in Iraq, and I am pleased with the progress that has been made. And I will continue to be pleased at the progress. I hope that the significant drop in murders -- I'll be glad to go through that list and others with you, if you would like. But I am very glad that we have made the progress that we have made, and there's a lot more to go, and it's long and it's hard and it's difficult. I think the American people are not getting the full picture of what's happening here.

SEN. GRAHAM: Can I just add to that?

You know, this is my sixth trip, and along the way, I've gone from the first time, where we went over to the hotel across the street and bought rugs -- there were two cars with us. And in between then and now, we were in tanks and couldn't move around and felt under siege.


SEN. MCCAIN:I just -- I was -- I candidly was not prepared for -- to find a marketplace where thousands and thousands of Iraqis were moving about in regular, everyday life, like a normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summertime, doing so in safety because of the efforts of U.S. and Iraqi personnel in adding barriers and hardening those areas so they wouldn't be susceptible to terrorists.

And I also wasn't prepared for the generous and warm and welcoming spirit that we encountered.