Lee Hamilton Praises Congressman Lipinski's Plan for Iraq
Lee Hamilton Praises Congressman Lipinski's Plan for Iraq
Early this year, Congressman Dan Lipinski announced a proposal entitled, "A New Path for America's Iraq Policy." In this proposal, Congressman Lipinski called for President Bush to seek broad international engagement to provide stability and reconstruction in Iraq, as well as to address political, economic, and religious issues in that country. That plan is already receiving praise from Lee Hamilton, co-chair of the Iraq Study Group.
Hamilton served in the House of Representatives for over 30 years until 1999. He has since been a member of several national security advisory boards. Most recently, Hamilton was a co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, a 10-person panel that released a bipartisan set of 79 recommendations for American policy in Iraq.
In a letter to Congressman Lipinski, Hamilton wrote, "I commend you for your excellent proposal. I agree with you completely on the importance of broad-based pressure from a variety of international sources to push Iraqi leaders in the direction of national reconciliation."
Mr. Hamilton went on to add, "I appreciate your careful analysis of why we cannot simply pull our troops out as soon as safely possible and leave it to the Iraqi people to work out a solution. As you point out, our stakes in the region are great. As dire as the situation is today, it could get much worse."
Congressman Lipinski's plan, which was introduced in the House of Representatives as H.Res.152, calls on the President to -
* (1) Encourage achievement of important goals in national reconciliation, security, and governance by arranging a peace conference for Iraq's ethnic and religious factions. This conference could be similar to the one that led to the Dayton Accords which ended the conflict in Bosnia.
* (2) Bring the world community together to seek solutions in Iraq, including calling an international conference to put together a peacekeeping force and an international reconstruction program.
* (3) Require the Administration to give Congress detailed reports on the situation in Iraq. Complete and accurate information is necessary for Congress to make informed decisions regarding Iraq's reconstruction funding and deciding when American forces can be safely redeployed.
"I appreciate Lee Hamilton's words of support for my proposal," said Congressman Lipinski. "As a member of the Iraq Study Group, he has an excellent understanding of the challenges facing Iraq. If these recommendations are followed, I believe American troops can begin redeployment in 2007, leaving a secure, stable Iraq."
http://www.lipinski.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=482&Itemid=66