Surge Leads to Progress in Iraq

Statement

SURGE LEADS TO PROGRESS IN IRAQ

Congressman Zach Wamp shared his thoughts regarding General Petraeus' testimony before Congress and the President's Speech on Troops in Iraq. A portion of his statement follows: "There's no question in my mind that our options are all difficult in terms of going forward in Iraq, but we have to do what we have to do. The so-called ‘surge' has been successful on several fronts and we need to acknowledge that objectively. Frankly, for the first four years of the Iraqi conflict, we really didn't have the right battle plan. People like U.S. Sen. John McCain were saying that we didn't have enough troop strength early, didn't think we had the right plan coming out of the Pentagon.

"We needed a surge and, in fact, things did improve when the surge came into Iraq and Gen. Petraeus is clearly a great military leader and that has made a significant difference. Violence is down, sectarian violence is down, our casualties certainly are down. Their government is coming along, violence is down, the surge has worked, but we're not out of the woods. There are still many, many problems.

"We cannot retreat at this time. We can start to plan now for redeployments and drawdowns and reduced terms of our deployments. Troop levels are coming down, they will come down. This has been called a ‘pause,' what General Petraeus has recommended. The President has cautioned that we need to be very careful that we're not pulling down too quickly. We don't want more casualties because we are leaving too quickly and leaving the areas unsecured that we now have seen secured.

"The Iraq economy is improving and providing clear signs that they are standing up their system of government and their economy. We've complained about how much money our country is spending on reconstruction and I approached the White House on this issue this week. We learn, though, that the Iraqi government is spending much more on reconstruction in Iraq than we are. We learn that the Iraqi military suffered more casualties than we have. We're learning that the Iraqi society is obviously paying a great price as well. We are - without question - but so are they. There are more free elections on the way for Iraq, both this year and next year, and that's a positive development.

"The President's announcement on Thursday that we're going to reduce the deployments from 15 months to 12 months at a time in Iraq is very important. I have a unique position now as the lead Republican on the appropriations subcommittee that funds our military installations around the world through the military construction budget. I have heard from all the commands around the world, including CENTCOM, which includes the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, so I know full well from our hearings and my service there, what the long-term deployments are doing to the quality of life of our troops and our ability to retain and recruit.

"Then there's the goal of having a 12-month on and instead of 12 months in theater and 12 months home, the goal is to have 12 months in the theater and 24 months at home. Over the next five years we would move it back to 12 months in the theater and 36 months at home. That's really the goal. If you want to have a sustainable force, given the threats of the world today, have 12 months in the theater and 36 months at home. That's the ideal, sustainable, environment. At least we're getting back to one-to-one, then we go to one-to-two, and then we go to one-to-three.

"Progress is being made, the stakes of leaving too early are very high. There is a price to pay for staying, there's no question about it. All choices are difficult, wrought with difficulties and challenges; however, there is a lot at stake. We cannot leave early. We get more and more men and women in uniform out of the combat role, even though, as Senator McCain has said, we will need a presence in the Middle East for a while. This is the beginning of downsizing of our troops in combat roles with Iraq, but we can't do it too quickly. General Petraeus is doing an outstanding job and every man and woman in uniform in harm's way on our behalf should be thanked by the men, women, children and parents of our country."

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