President Bush's Iraq Statement

PRESIDENT BUSH'S IRAQ STATEMENT -- (Senate - June 28, 2005)

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, tonight, as we all know, President Bush is going to speak to the Nation about the situation in Iraq. I think that we all have a pretty good sense of much of what he is going to say. He will talk, as he should, about the extraordinary courage of our troops across the world; he will talk, as he should, about the march of democracy; and he will speak with pride about Iraqi elections and the end of tyranny. He will stress, as we all share, the importance of the war on terror. All of us in this Chamber stand in awe of the courage of our troops and all of us in this Chamber and in this country are passionate about democracy. But the fact is that honoring our troops and extolling the virtue of democracy, those words alone are not going to be enough to improve the situation and the reality of the perilous direction that we are currently headed in Iraq. What we need are not just the words extolling the virtues of things with which we all agree. What we need is a policy that is going to address the complex and in some ways self-inflicted predicament that we face today. The best way to honor troops, Mr. President, the best way to protect our troops, is to provide them with the best policy possible. The fact is that that is not what we have today. Yesterday, I attended the funeral of Christopher Piper of Marblehead, MA, special forces, who died of wounds from an IED, and two other of his fellow soldiers died previously in that same incident. The overwhelming outpouring of emotion and patriotism--kids holding flags along the sides of the streets, people, good citizens, patriots all, coming out to say goodbye to their native son--was moving beyond words.

Christopher Piper, and all of the soldiers like him currently serving and all those who will go over there, deserve a Government leadership that makes the best decisions possible to be able to provide them the greatest security possible to accomplish the mission as rapidly and effectively as possible.

Today, I regret to say, the experience in Iraq has proven again and again to America and the world that we have no realistic comprehensive strategy to reduce the risks to our soldiers and to achieve our goals. While our military has done--and continues to do--a superb job, our civilian leadership has not, and our soldiers are paying the price every single day. It is time for a realistic plan for success.

To achieve that plan, we have to begin by tearing down the wall of arrogance. When the Vice President absurdly claims the insurgency is in its last throes, it insults the common sense and intelligence of the American people, and he diminishes our stature in the world. How can we expect the Iraqi people to take us seriously and do their part when the White House says the insurgency is fading, and yet Iraqis live in constant fear--explosions waking them up in the night, reminding them of the danger inherent in a short walk to work or to school the next morning.

I know that we should not dwell on mistakes. We need to understand, however, the consequences of the decisions we have made and our ability to effectively move forward because the only way you can move forward and have a comprehensive strategy is to understand where you have been. With allies reading the Downing Street memo and the American people increasingly aware that the rationalization for war changed midstream, it now becomes that much harder to rally the collective strength of the Nation and the world to our cause.

We have to acknowledge the past in order to overcome it because the truth is that, until this moment, the stubbornness of this administration has made a difference. It hurts our chances for success. It leads to frustrated expectations of Americans themselves. It makes it much more difficult for the Iraqi people to embrace the cause, and it makes it so much easier for sidelined nations to turn their back on a common interest and say: OK, it is their deal, let them go solve it because they don't seem to understand it.

The bottom line is that when it comes to war and the safety of American troops, there is no time for excuses. All of our troops deserve the best we can provide, and they deserve it now. This is the time for the administration to tell the truth about what is happening on the ground and be open to new ideas about how we are going to get the job done. Admitting mistakes is a necessary hurdle and a constructive tool for this administration if it wants to build the strength necessary to get it right in Iraq. Admitting mistakes paves the way for elected officials and the American people to come together and to move forward. Admitting mistakes actually lays the groundwork for the climate of cooperation that allows allies to add to our strength. Admitting mistakes eases the concerns of the Iraqi people and helps us make them understand that there will be no success unless they embrace the burden of their own future. And that includes acknowledging that Iraq today is something that it was not before the war--a breeding ground for jihadists. Today, there are 16,000 to 20,000 insurgents, and the number of jihadists among them is growing, according to our own estimates. So this is a growing challenge, and we need to take immediate steps to address it. Our officer corps reports that every time our troops kill or capture an insurgent, there are three more who just step forward to take his place. That is not a compelling strategy for success.

So I hope that tonight we hear something new from the President. I hope the President will recognize that the American people demand more than a communications strategy--they demand real leadership, with real decisions and real choices that provide a strategy for success and that get our troops home. If the President does this, he will begin to restore the confidence of the American people and the respect of the world. In showing real leadership, he will make it clear to the Iraqi people that it is time for them to take the lead.

I also hope the American people understand that there still can be a plan for success in Iraq if we move quickly, if we make the right choices, if we reach across the aisle for bipartisan effort, if we reach out to other nations. The mistakes that we have made do not change the fact that our military is the most powerful and competent in the world and that democracy is one of the world's most powerful ideas. The mistakes do not change the fact that the Iraqi people understand, through the powerful memory of generations, that they have a unique opportunity to shape their own future. If the President finally opens to these new ideas and gets this right, tells the truth about the complex challenge, and the Iraqi people get serious about doing their part and bearing the burden, we can have the success that we need and seek in Iraq.

So what can the President say tonight to get things right in Iraq and put us on the road to success? The President can start by immediately declaring that the United States does not seek permanent bases or any permanent military presence in Iraq. Erasing suspicion of indefinite occupation is critical to eroding support for the insurgency. Getting that right also means using the extraordinary leverage that we have to get the Iraqis to do their part. Our massive military presence is all that stands between the Iraqi people and complete chaos. Our special forces are protecting Iraqi leaders. With this kind of leverage, it is nothing short of shocking that the administration allowed 6 months to go by from the last election before including Sunnis in the political process. This was an obvious crucial prerequisite to success.

Yet there was no sense of urgency and minimal pressure applied. It is time for the administration to use its leverage to insist that the Iraqis do their part and establish a truly inclusive political process and meet the deadlines for finishing the Constitution and holding new elections in December. There can be no wavering from those dates.

Getting it right also means putting together a real plan for training Iraqi troops and following through on it. This should be our top priority. It is the key to getting our troops home and avoiding a humiliating withdrawal.

It is time to move beyond fudging the numbers and finally put the training of Iraqi troops on a true 6-month wartime footing. That includes ensuring that the Iraqi Government has the full budget necessary to be able to deploy and continue the training.

It is also time to stop using the in-country training requirement as an excuse for refusing offers made by Egypt, Jordan, France, and Germany to do more. Why would we turn down the opportunity of other countries to help us do more? Why would we turn down the opportunity to be able to give our troops the relief they deserve?

Getting it right also means drawing up a detailed plan--a real plan, shared with the Congress of the United States--with the clear milestone of transfer of military and police responsibilities to the Iraqis after the December elections.

The administration's plan should take into account both political and security objectives, including Iraqi force structure and capacity, and it should be specifically tied to a series of specific tasks and responsibilities. This plan must have more than just dates and numbers. It must make it clear to the Iraqi Government that American patience is limited.

The Iraqi people need to understand that in America, today, when we see Army recruitments suffering, families organizing to protect their kids from recruiters, and when we see the divorce rate for military officers skyrocketing--I am told the divorce rate among officers for the last year is up some 70-plus percent; and since the year 2000, up over 300 percent--when we see this kind of damage to the long-term capacity of the American military, we need to take it seriously. I know the Iraqi people already understand that our troops are skilled and brave. Now they need to understand we must see legitimate progress that offers a real chance of American troops beginning to come home.

At the same time, if the administration wants the Iraqis to bear the burden, they need to move beyond the hollow ``stay as long as it takes no matter what'' talk that provides an endless security blanket--a disincentive for Iraqis to stand up for Iraq--and, instead, they must talk forcefully about the transfer of responsibility.

If the administration gets this plan right, and the Iraqis succeed in adopting a new constitution and holding elections as planned, trained Iraqi security forces should be ready to take on more responsibility at the critical moment when support for the insurgency is diminishing. That is the kind of careful, strategic planning we need to set the stage for American forces to be able to be reduced in number, as the Iraqi security forces assume more of the mission. But, again, this simply will not happen unless the Iraqi forces themselves assume more of their part. We must make the Iraqi Government understand the patience of America is finite, and that real progress must be achieved. We all understand that deploying capable Iraqi security forces is imperative to success. It always has been imperative to success. Yet the numbers we have been given again and again have been false. But the administration would also have us believe Iraqi forces alone could end the insurgency. That is simply not true. I hope the President strikes a different tone tonight and commits to work simultaneously, equally, forcefully on all fronts--security, economic, and political.

The administration should know by now that overly optimistic predictions for Iraq and rebuilding Iraq have actually been a drag on our mission. Reconstruction lags behind even in the Shiite south and in the Kurdish north, where security is far less of an issue. This sends the wrong message to those whom we ask to sacrifice for freedom.

We need to speed up work in these areas in order to demonstrate that progress will be made in the rest of Iraq. If Iraqis, particularly Sunnis, who fear being left out in the cold, see electricity flowing, jobs being created, infrastructure being built, and a government of their own choosing being formed, the lure of the insurgency will diminish. The violence and risk to our troops will decrease. To get it right in Iraq, we must show all Iraqis they are fighting not only for a future of freedom but for a tangibly improved future for their lives on a day-to-day basis, and for their children.

Getting it right also means understanding the neighborhood. It means getting those with an interest in Iraq, such as the Saudis, to act now.

Iraq is surrounded by Sunni neighbors with significant resources, yet complaints fall from these neighbors about being left out and about their concerns falling on deaf ears. Many of these countries could do much more to help, and we should encourage them to do so. Even short-term improvements, such as providing electricity from their grids, or supplying diesel fuel--an offer that has been made but is yet unfulfilled by the Saudis--would go a long way.

But we have to do our part and address their legitimate concerns. If we want these nations to step up to the plate and help us to secure Iraq's borders and help, particularly because of their Sunni background, to bring Sunnis into the political process or help to rebuild Iraq's economy and infrastructure, then we have to offer a coherent, strategic security plan for their region. We have to address their fears of an Iran-dominated crescent, and their concerns about our sporadic mediation between Israel and the Palestinians. This administration needs to show it understands there has to be some give-and-take in the process.

The administration could also give a significant boost to the rebuilding effort by recognizing the great untapped potential of private sector contributions. The conference that just took place in Brussels was a donor conference. What we need is more than donors; we need investment. The administration, working with the Iraqi Government, should organize a development conference for Iraqi businessmen and their regional counterparts who wish to invest in Iraq. Regional investment would not only strengthen Iraq's economy, it would give neighboring governments a greater stake in Iraq's success and another incentive for them to be able to provide more help. And the administration might want to consider the effect on regional businessmen when they read headlines about Halliburton's extraordinary dominance of local contracts.

Much of what I have discussed today--from administration mistakes, to the steps we need to move forward--all deals with laying the groundwork for long-term success. But the reality is, the elections are 6 months off. Iraq is not going to be rebuilt overnight, and it is going to take time to get the Iraqi troops ready.

In the coming months, even with perfect planning, there will be violence, turmoil, and hardship. That is why tonight it is critical that President Bush make clear there are actions we can take in the short term to ease the burden on our troops. He needs to get this right, not only to save American lives, but to elevate the confidence of the American people. For this to happen, the President must reconsider some hastily brushed aside options.

To date, the administration has been unwilling to entertain the idea of empowered militias, instead singularly focusing on a unified Iraqi security force. But Iraq, like Afghanistan, has numerous tribal, religious, and ethnic militias, such as the Kurdish Peshmerga or the Shiite Badr Army.

The fact is, these forces are structured, and, most importantly, they are accepted by the provincial populations. They are capable of providing protection while helping with reconstruction. In the interim, while a fully capable Iraqi security force is established, these forces could meet some of the critical security needs. They could fill the gap. If they can help do the job, why not let them?

It is time for the administration to put aside its concerns and prod the Iraqi Government to give the militias legitimacy. We can do this by integrating them into a kind of national guard, a force that would provide security in their own areas where they are respected and accepted.

The administration also needs to get it right on border security. For 2 years now, Senators and others have been commenting on the absence of adequate border security. The jihadists have been able to move in at will. If we want to ease the burden on our troops in the short term, we need to put that kind of adequate border security force in place. The truth is, it has been absent since day one, which is a shame, because that is precisely where our allies could help.

As opposed to providing security in urban areas, border security is generally much less risky for troops. The administration needs to work with the Iraqi Government to reach out to the world and establish a multinational force to secure Iraq's borders. Such a force, if sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council, could attract participation by Iraq's neighbors and powerful nations with a vested interest, such as India.

The administration has narrowed our options in Iraq, but there are still better choices available to us. There is still time to get it right in Iraq, and I hope, for the sake of our troops, the President will do so tonight.

We are at a critical juncture in this conflict, both at home and abroad. The last thing we need is the administration growing even more stubborn or more defensive. Today, our Nation needs honest, open leadership, and a comprehensive strategy for success. It is time for the President to reach out and work across the aisle and across the globe to clean up this mess.

The President must seize this opportunity to move forward, as the next months are so critical to the future of Iraq and to the future of our security. If the administration fails to take the steps that are available to them, and fails to hold the Iraqis accountable, we will stumble along, our troops at greater risk, casualties rising, the patience of the American people wearing thin, and the specter of quagmire staring us in the face.

Every misstep, every measure untaken, every wise course not followed carries an unbearable cost. The American people have a right to expect accountability. We need to decrease the risk to our troops and strengthen our chances for success. Our troops deserve better than they are getting. They deserve leadership that is equal to their sacrifice.

http://thomas.loc.gov