Statement from Tom Kean, Jr. on the War in Iraq and Secretary Rumsfeld

September 3, 2006 - This weekend I called upon Donald Rumsfeld to step aside as U.S. Secretary of Defense.

I have come to this position after several months of deliberation. It is hardly a secret, and several administration spokesmen freely admit, that in the past several years, and especially in the past few months, scores of mistakes have been made during our attempts to create a more stable Iraq.

I had thought that things would begin to change once we had a new general in charge of the situation on the ground. It has become clear to me in recent days that what is needed is a change of direction, policy, and attitude at the highest levels of our defense establishment in Washington. As Senator McCain, former Navy Secretary John Lehman, and multiple other experts remind us, we had too few forces to administer the country before turning the realms of government over to a transitional and, later, an elected government. We have made too little progress in sealing the country's borders, so that Iranian resources and terrorists are deprived of ready access into the country. We also erred seriously when we disbanded all Iraqi security forces and virtually its entire civil service with no clear plans as to how to fill that vacuum. And, more than a year after the Secretary promised the situation would be improved, we still hear stories of our soldiers not having the armored vehicles and the protective body armor they need to maximize their safety. I have no reason to suspect, from what I hear and read, to expect any of this to change without a change at the top of the department.

At the cost of $4 billion a month, our operations in Iraq consume virtually the entire defense budget. Our open-ended commitment to stay in the country deprives us of resources and manpower we will need to resist the growing Iranian and other security threats to our nation. I do not favor setting a deadline for withdrawal of our military from Iraq. That "cut and run" strategy would be an open invitation to terrorists across the world to increase the number of threats they plan against American military and civilian personnel elsewhere. What I am calling for is a fresh approach to a tired, faulty and stalled policy.

The American people would be better served by new leadership at the helm of the Department of Defense. A new secretary in charge would be able to bring to bear new ideas and a fresh approach. It is my hope that he or she would listen to other voices both inside and outside of the Department of Defense that have been ignored, shunted to the side, or gaveled down. I had hoped that Secretary Rumsfeld would be able to do this. His speech the other day convinced me that he has no intention of doing this.

I call upon Congressional leaders of both parties not to make the war in Iraq a political football. Both parties should be pulling together to see that our fighting forces have the equipment and the wherewithal they need to lead us to victory in the shortest amount of time. By no means should my comments be interpreted as criticism of our men and women in the field. The performance of the armed forces of the United States since the outset of this war have been nothing short of spectacular.

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