Biden On Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki's Address To The Joint Session of Congress

Biden On Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki's Address To The Joint Session of Congress

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) issued the following statement today in advance of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's address to the joint session of Congress:

"Since becoming Prime Minister on May 20th, Nouri al-Maliki has taken two major initiatives aimed at regaining control of Baghdad and stifling sectarianism. The first, Operation Forward Together, flooded Baghdad with American and Iraqi security forces. The second was a 24-point National Reconciliation program and sought to nip sectarianism in the bud. Yet sectarian violence has exploded into virtual civil war in Baghdad - with Shiite militias and Sunni insurgents taking over entire neighborhoods and engaging in localized ethnic cleansing, often with no response from security forces.

"President Bush acknowledged as much yesterday when he said the situation in Baghdad is ‘terrible' and ordered even more U.S. troops into the city. But his response is further evidence that the administration has no strategy for victory in Iraq, only a strategy to prevent defeat. We need to do three things now to prevent further deterioration and help right the country's course. First, we must push the Shi'a-led government to get Sunni buy-in by moving against Shi'a militia and sharing oil revenues. Second, we must help build the capacity of Iraq's government to deliver what people everywhere expect of government. Third, we must help them in tackling an unemployment problem that swells the ranks of the militia, the insurgency and criminal gangs. I hope Prime Minister Maliki addresses these needs in his speech today before Congress.

"Without a significantly ramped-up effort to bring the Sunnis in, build Iraq's ministries and generate employment, we risk trading a dictator for chaos."

http://biden.senate.gov/newsroom/details.cfm?id=259695&&