Letter to Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld-Expresses Concern Over Number of U.S. Casualties Since Administration Delcared 'Mission Accomplished

July 01, 2003
Donald H. Rumsfeld Secretary of Defense 1000 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC 20301-1000

Dear Secretary Rumsfeld:

As a Senator who supported Operation Iraqi Freedom, I now write to you to express my concerns regarding this post-conflict period. On May 1, President Bush announced the formal end of "combat operations"; he told the American people and members of Congress that the military objectives of Operation Iraqi Freedom had been met. Yet since that time, 63 additional U.S. service men have died in Iraq. This past week, intensified attacks on U.S. troops precipitated Operation Sidewinder and Operation Desert Scorpion and other military efforts to defeat the remaining oppositional insurgents.
Indeed, with 1/3 of U.S. total casualties in Iraq occurring since May 1, I am worried that this upward casualty trend will continue and that U.S. forces - serving in an insecure and unstable country - will sustain further losses.

These recent events suggest that a comprehensive military strategy is immediately required to successfully defeat Iraqi insurgents who oppose the Coalition Provision Authority (CPA). This plan must, as its primary objective, aim to enhance the security and rule of law for Iraqis. I request that you share with members of Congress and the American people the Administration's strategic plan for this current era of post-regime Iraq, and that this plan include detailed figures of projected force deployment for the next 12 months. I believe that the absence of a public post-conflict plan has led to confusion and misperceptions among the American people regarding the magnitude of the military operations necessary in Iraq.

Retired Army General Eric Shinseki expressed his belief last February that military planners had underestimated the necessary troop size required to successfully invade and secure Iraq. He recommended at least 300,000 U.S. service men and women to achieve the intended objectives. With only 150,000 U.S. service men and women currently on the ground in Iraq, I believe that our troops need immediate reinforcements, both to increase their numbers and to relieve active duty service men and women. We should invite international troops from coalition countries to join our forces, to boost morale and to provide needed expertise in military policing and other civil reconstruction work.

It is vital that the Administration carefully communicate its plan for stabilizing post-war Iraq to American people. This plan must include the Pentagon's estimate of the duration of the current U.S. force deployment as well as the estimated military and reconstruction costs. Both issues directly affect the American taxpayers and the families of service men and women deployed at home and abroad. In addition, I am concerned that though independent think tanks have calculated the projected costs of the reconstruction efforts that range from $5-$20 billion over the next year, the Administration has not yet relayed to Congress and to the public what the financial costs of this war will be.

I look forward to hearing from you in response to these concerns.

Sincerely,
Frank R. Lautenberg