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Olver Blasts President's Escalation of War in Iraq

Date: Jan. 19, 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Defense Foreign Affairs


OLVER BLASTS PRESIDENT'S ESCALATION OF WAR IN IRAQ

Congressman John W. Olver (1st District) released the following statement today: "I oppose the escalation of President Bush's war in Iraq. This strategy is four years too late and at least one hundred thousand troops too few. If the President carries out this escalation, I believe he will be remembered for the deaths of many more American soldiers and Iraqi civilians.

"Iraq is in the early throes of a civil war. Iraqis must make a choice between a stable nation, ruled by law with respect for minority rights and with oil revenues fairly distributed or a full scale civil war with devastating consequences for millions of Iraqis and potential involvement of all their neighboring countries. This should not be a difficult choice for Iraqis, but it is their choice alone.

"Escalation of America's military role with air strikes and search and destroy missions in the Sunni urban core neighborhoods of Baghdad is exactly the wrong approach. It fuels the growing civil war and confirms for the large Sunni minority that they have no future in the Iraq that America has created. We should not use or promote tactics which fuel the civil war and we must not allow our young men and women to be caught between the combatants.

"At this very late date virtually everyone agrees that peace and stability for Iraq cannot be secured militarily but only politically. Our best chance for a positive outcome to this tragic war is outlined and unanimously recommended by the Iraq Study Group led by former Secretary of States James Baker and former Congressman Lee Hamilton.

"We should deemphasize our military role except to deny haven to Al Qaeda. We should substitute a robust, multi-faceted diplomatic campaign to gain support and assistance for a stable unified Iraq and to secure Iraq¹s neighbors' non-involvement if the civil war expands. That campaign must involve major powers, regional groups like the European Union and Arab League, and Iraq¹s neighbors ­ without exception or precondition.

"If the Iraqis choose civil war, we should disengage and redeploy our troops away from involvement in their civil war."

http://www.house.gov/olver/news/pr070119.html

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