Kennedy Questions Petraeus On Benchmarks For Iraq And The Risk Of Sending Tens Of Thousands Of Americans Into Baghdad

KENNEDY QUESTIONS PETRAEUS ON BENCHMARKS FOR IRAQ AND THE RISK OF SENDING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS INTO BAGHDAD

Today the Senate Armed Services Committee convened to consider the nomination of Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus to be General and Commander of Multi-National Forces in Iraq. Senator Edward M. Kennedy questioned Lt. Gen. Petraeus about the timeline for achieving the benchmarks for Iraqis as well as the increased risk of sending more troops into Baghdad. Below are Senator Kennedy's remarks:

"The Administration has outlined military, economic, and political benchmarks to measure success in Iraq. But, it has not indicated any timeline to achieve them or clearly articulated the consequences if the benchmarks are not met.

What is your timeline for ensuring that the Iraqis will take four key steps -- pass an oil revenue sharing law, hold provincial elections, reform de-Baathification laws, and revise the Constitution?

If the Iraqis believe that the commitment of our military forces in Iraq is open-ended, what incentive do you believe it creates to resolve these political differences and stop the sectarian violence?

The President plans to send tens of thousands of American soldiers into combat on the streets of Baghdad. Doesn't that run the great risk of actually increasing hostility toward our soldiers within the population and undermine our battle for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people?

Finally, public support for the war doesn't exist, and there is no support for sending more troops into the civil war in Baghdad. We have surged our forces four times in the past, and each time the underlying political conditions haven't changed."

http://kennedy.senate.gov/newsroom/press_release.cfm?id=48b29269-c6ec-4838-aadf-5e49bf18f2ff