http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1115-27.htm
Published on Tuesday, November 15, 2005 by CommonDreams.org
Set Military Timetable For Completing Mission in Iraq
by U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
Senate Floor Statement
November 14, 2005
Sen. Feingold made the following Senate Floor Statement on the amendment calling for a military timetable for completing the mission in Iraq:
Mr. President,
In March 2003, the brave men and women of our armed forces were sent into war in Iraq. Now, over two and a half years later, that war continues and those brave men and women are waiting for what they should have gotten long ago – a clear, realistic military mission with a flexible timetable for achieving that mission. And, of course, that timetable has to include a plan for withdrawing our troops from Iraq when their mission is done.
On Tuesday, the Senate can start to put our Iraq policy on the right course by demanding a public plan and a flexible timetable for achieving our military goals and bringing our troops home. The absence of any kind of timetable is not fair to our troops and their families. It’s making the American people increasingly anxious. And it’s hurting, not helping, our Iraq policy and our broader national security strategy.
Why is it hurting us? Well, for one thing, the perception that US troops will be there indefinitely discourages Iraqi ownership of the political process. It also fuels the insurgency, which thrives on conspiracy theories about our intentions and presence in Iraq. The failure to put forth a timetable is helping the recruitment of foreign fighters and unifying elements of the insurgency that might otherwise turn on each other. Former Republican Defense Secretary and Wisconsin Congressman Melvin Laird recognized that when he said that “our presence is what feeds the insurgency.” General George Casey recognized that when he said that the perception of occupation in Iraq “fuels the insurgency.” So did one of the top military commanders I spoke with in Iraq, who told me off the record that nothing would take the wind out of the sails of the insurgents more than a public timetable for finishing the mission.
Drawing down our troops in Iraq is also essential if we are going to prevent the US Army from being hollowed out and ensure our military readiness. And it’s essential if we are going to make sure that our Iraq policy is consistent with our broader national security priority – going after the global terrorist networks that threaten the US. Despite the Administration’s desperate efforts to link them, Iraq has been a dangerous and self-defeating diversion from that central fight against global terrorism.
Unfortunately, the President is one of the dwindling group of people who don’t support a timetable. They argue that a timetable will embolden the insurgency. Actually, it will undermine the insurgency. They argue that fighting insurgents in Iraq means we won’t have to fight them elsewhere. That’s just wishful thinking, of course – the idea that all of our terrorist enemies will be irresistibly drawn to Iraq like bees to honey doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. They argue that the insurgents will wait us out if we have a timetable. Of course, the insurgents could do that now if that’s what they wanted – lay low and wait until we leave. They argue that if we leave prematurely, Iraq will fall into chaos. The only problem is that the insurgency isn’t letting up and there’s not much expectation it will, as long as our troops remain with no endgoal in sight.
For months, I have been calling on the President to provide a flexible, public timetable for our mission in Iraq. I am not calling for a rigid timetable – I mean one that is tied to clear and achievable benchmarks, with estimated dates for meeting those benchmarks. Today, I am pleased to join with some of my distinguished colleagues in the Senate in offering an amendment that demands just that. I hope that the Senate will finally tell the Administration that “stay the course” isn’t a strategy for success – it’s not even a strategy. We need to correct the course we are on. To do that, we need openness, we need honesty, and we need clarity about our military mission in Iraq. The American people, and our troops in Iraq, have been waiting for that for far too long. We can’t afford to wait any longer.
I yield the floor.
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