A New Strategy For Iraq

A NEW STRATEGY FOR IRAQ

January 10, 2007

The great Vince Lombardi once said, "Fatigue makes cowards of us all." While football pales in comparison to war, the analogy is very true today as we consider our options and the future of the United States in Iraq and the global war against the Jihadists. America has come to a crossroads and we have difficult decisions to make where the stakes are high and the consequences are great. Senator Joe Lieberman, returning from a trip to Baghdad, called for the courage to take decisive action in Iraq, which will "greatly advance the cause of moderation and freedom throughout the Middle East and protect our security at home." We cannot afford to retreat into a 1990's-style complacency that will only invite more 9/11's.

Violence in Iraq has escalated, many soldiers are preparing for their third tour of duty, and current U.S. policy is not working. One problem is that we never had enough troops to secure the area in and around Baghdad, where 80% of the violence occurs. The current number of soldiers cannot help the growing Iraqi army when and where they need it most. More battalions will help meet the security needs of the Iraqi reformers, allowing them to openly support Iraqi security forces without being vulnerable to radical groups. Baghdad needs to be safer for Iraqi forces to take the reins and for America to leave Iraq having achieved an important victory in the War on Terror.

Sending more troops to Iraq will not help unless it is coupled with a concrete, feasible plan. There must be a new strategy in place that requires the active participation of Prime Minister Maliki and holds the Iraqi people responsible for the ongoing sectarian violence. It is imperative that we move forward with this goal in mind: an Iraq run by, secured by, and governed by the Iraqi people.

There is no silver bullet, nor a quick fix, but now is the time to pave a new path. Frederick Kagan from the American Enterprise Institute said, "The real choice we face is this: is it better to accept defeat than to endure the pain of trying to succeed?" The families of fallen soldiers from my Congressional district have suffered great loss. But in their grief, they want our just cause to prevail. Without exception, I have heard from those families that we must gather the strength, the will, and the support to win against the terrorists.

The President has a long way to go to restore the confidence of the American people in our strategy and his plan. But this cannot be George W. Bush's war. This must be America's fight and we must come together in the days and weeks ahead and agree to continue so that over the next two years, we can bring thousands of troops home in victory and send the Islamic extremists back into their caves, defeated or eliminated.

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/tn03_wamp/iraq.html