We can argue
every day about whether the war was a wise choice. With the benefit
of hindsight, everyone now agrees that the intelligence provided
by our security agencies was just plain wrong. There is no question
that while Iraq had weapons of mass destruction in the 1990s and
used poison gas against both Iraqi Kurds and Iranian soldiers,
somewhere along the line, it disposed of those weapons without
establishing when and how to UN inspectors. To date, no WMDs have
been found in Iraq.
I supported
the war and believe it was the right decision on the basis of
the information provided by the CIA, then under director George
Tenet. Tenet has since been rewarded with the Presidential Medal
of Freedom for his service. “Slam dunk” Tenet and
Paul Bremer, the top civilian administrator in post-war Iraq who
also received a Presidential Medal of Freedom for his achievements
in Iraq, failed in their responsibilities. Tenet’s failure
to provide good intelligence and Bremer’s awful decision
to demobilize the entire Iraqi army are the main causes of the
challenges we now face. Tenet and Bremer deserve censure by the
Congress, not honors from the president they misguided. Their
medals should be withdrawn.
The many
Democrats who initially supported the war would like to explain
away their votes by claiming they were misled by the President.
That claim is the real lie. Bush relied on Tenet, who was appointed
not by him, but by President Clinton.
So here
we are, two and a half years after the second Iraqi war was proclaimed
to have ended, still mired in Iraq, unable to agree on an exit
strategy. Our NATO allies, led by Germany and France, have betrayed
us by declining to send their military forces to Iraq; the same
is true of our regional allies in the Middle East -- Turkey, Saudi
Arabia and Jordan.
The President’s
position is, when the “Iraqi army stands up, the American
army will stand down,” and we will leave Iraq. In June of
this year, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld estimated how
long the insurrection in Iraq will go on. According to The
New York Times, he “echoed remarks by his advisers
in recent months suggesting that the insurgency could last as
long as a dozen years and that Iraq would become more violent
before elections later this year [which have been held].”
Frank Rich recited in a column this week the more pungent comment
of a television reporter: “On the same day the Senate passed
the resolution rebuking Mr. Bush on the war, Martha Raddatz of
ABC News reported that ‘only about 700 Iraqi troops’
could operate independently of the U.S. military, 27,000 more
could take a lead role in combat ‘only with strong support’
from our forces and the rest of the 200,000-odd trainees suffered
from a variety of problems, from equipment shortages to an inability
‘to wake up when told’ or follow orders.” General
George W. Casey, Jr., the top American commander in Iraq, gave
the Congress a similar analysis recently, stating, “only
one Iraqi battalion [500 men] at that time was able to fight fully
independent of American forces.”
The Congressional
brouhaha of last week was precipitated by Jack Murtha, Democrat
from Pennsylvania, a ranking Member and former Chairman of the
House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and who earned a
Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts for his years in combat in both
the Korean and Vietnam wars. Murtha, who previously supported
the war in Iraq, offered an exit strategy , “I believe before
the Iraqi elections, scheduled for mid December, the Iraqi people
and the emerging government must be put on notice that the United
States will immediately redeploy. All of Iraq must know that Iraq
is free. Free from United States occupation. I believe this will
send a signal to the Sunnis to join the political process for
the good of a ‘free’ Iraq.” He introduced a
resolution on November 17, 2005, calling for the withdrawal of
American troops from Iraq “at the earliest practical date,”
and providing for “a quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon
presence of U.S. Marines shall be deployed in the region.”
Murtha’s resolution was never brought to a vote.
The Republicans
excoriated Murtha for what they saw as a betrayal, with Bush spokesman
Scott McClellan stating that it is "baffling that [Pennsylvania
Rep. John Murtha] is endorsing the policy positions of Michael
Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the Democratic party."
In an attempt to subject the Democrats to ridicule, the Republican
leadership offered a non-binding resolution on exiting Iraq with
the operative words, “get out immediately.” They knew
Democrats would vote against such a resolution fearing to be held
accountable in the 2006 election as, at best, fools, and, at worst,
cowards. Nancy Pelosi, as the Democratic House leader, should
have announced that the Democrats would not participate in the
farce and would vote “present” in protest. Instead,
they foolishly joined the Republicans in debate and voted “no”
with the Republicans, except for three Democrats, Jose Serrano
of New York, Robert Wexler of Florida and Cynthia McKinney of
Georgia, who voted for the resolution.
I believe
that Democrats and Republicans who are unhappy with the current
state of affairs should rally around my proposal on how to leave
Iraq. I propose we put our NATO and regional allies on notice
that unless they come to Iraq and place boots on the ground and
bear their share of the casualties and costs of the war, the U.S.
and its allies in Iraq will leave within six months. In his Sunday
column, David Brooks wrote, “If the U.S. leaves, Iraq will
descend into a full-scale civil war. The Iranians will come in
on the side of the Shiites. The Syrians, Saudis and God knows
who else will be tempted to come in on the side of the Sunnis.
The Turks will be tempted to come in to take care of the Kurds.
We might be looking at the Middle East version of World War I.”
If David Brooks prediction comes true, the UN will have to act
at that time. The prospect of a civil war might cause NATO, the
regional countries and the UN Security Council itself to join
us now by providing troops to prevent such a war from occurring,
and to head off an American withdrawal.
In the meanwhile,
until we reach a consensus, let’s stop destroying the country
we all love. The Democrats and their leaders, Senator Harry Reid
and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, should stop calling the President
a liar. The Republican Party, with the President, joined by Speaker
Hastert and Acting Majority Leader Roy Blunt, should apologize
to Jack Murtha for their outrageous attack upon him. The recent
praise of Murtha by the President and Vice President Cheney is
not adequate.
This is
the time to understand that we are at war, and young people we
sent into harm’s way in defense of our country are dying
on the battlefields. The number of American dead since the war
in Iraq was declared over on May 1, 2003, now totals 1,939, and
casualties total 15,162. In Afghanistan, 203 American military
personnel have been killed. We at home, protected by our young
military personnel, are suffering no pain or reduction in our
lifestyles. Let’s get serious and appropriately tax those
who can afford it, make the corporations pay their fair share
of the tax burden, and end their escape from taxation by going
offshore. We should get serious about promoting alternative fuels,
capturing excess profits by the oil industry and so much more.
A word to former President Clinton: there is something to be said
for old time virtues, one of which is not to attack the country’s
foreign policies or the President while we are speaking in other
countries. We should reserve those criticisms for our appearances
and statements here at home.
