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(Washington D.C.)- Congressman Dan Lungren (R-CA), today issued the following statement concerning Iraq.
“It goes without saying that we can all agree things have not progressed as we had hoped they would in Iraq. This is a point which the President himself acknowledged in his speech to the nation on January 10, 2007. On the one hand, there is solace from the fact that the Iraqi people have chosen their nation’s leadership in democratic elections, and have ratified a constitution which represents a dramatic departure from the rule of one of the most repressive regimes on the globe. At the same time however, it is this very hope of democracy which has led those extremists who fear such a prospect to lash out in a wave of violence. Political reform presupposes a certain level of stability and those most threatened by progress have sought to use murder as an instrument of chaos.
“The question of whether we should have initially gone into Iraq has ceased to be a relevant question in terms of the formulation of a policy response to the circumstances we currently face. The fact is that we are there, and that is the unpleasant reality which must be responded to. Political sound bites and Congressional Resolutions aimed at placing political blame are not a substitute for the formulation of necessary policy prescriptions by those who have the responsibility to protect the security of the American people, and the honor and credibility of the United States.
“In this regard, it is clear that there must be changes in our nation’s policy in Iraq. The ultimate objective of turning over the security of their country to the Iraqi government must be a primary focus of that policy. However, as Secretary of Defense Gates has explained, the reduction of violence in Iraq will produce the conditions which are most compatible with achieving that purpose. It is in this context that the increase of 20,000 U.S. troops slated for Iraq must be viewed. This is not intended to be a unilateral commitment which would have the effect of supplanting an expanding role by the Iraqi military and security forces. Rather, American units will be embedded within Iraqi formations to help them hold neighborhoods wrested from violent groups within Baghdad and Anbar Province. While the Iraqi government’s past performance has been cause for some concern, our expectations concerning their role are built into the new strategy. In fact, the strategy as a whole is predicted upon the responsibility of the Government of Iraq to meet “benchmarks” which have been established by the United States as conditions precedent to the implementation of the plan itself.
“Although the challenges before us relate to the formulation of policy, this should not be considered in a vacuum. For the most important asset of the United States in Iraq is quality of the men and women of our armed forces. In this regard, the person charged with the responsibility of implementing the new policy, General David Petraeus, is well suited to perform such a task. In addition to his experience in the area around Mosul, Iraq, he is the co-author of the recently released military field manual on counter-insurgency doctrine. History provides us with examples where military commanders who have been brought into the theater of operations in order to turn around what seemed at the time to be less than promising—as illustrated by the appointments of General Grant and General Patton to name two such examples. If there were ever a need for such leadership in Iraq it is now, and General Petraeus will be a critical component to our prospects for progress.
“The need to meet the challenge of stabilizing Iraq—primarily in Baghdad and Anbar Province—is essential to the orderly withdrawal of American forces. Any precipitous action which fails to accommodate this concern would likely have untold consequences for innocents within Iraq, the broader Middle East, and ultimately the security of the American people.
“Again however, it must be emphasized that the long term success or failure of Democracy in Iraq will rest with the Iraqis themselves. As Faoud Ajami of Johns Hopkins University has pointed out, we have given the gift of freedom to the Iraqi people, which by nature entails the conclusion that their future is in their own hands. The new strategy recognizes that our remaining days in Iraq must be dedicated to making this transition possible.”
Congressman Lungren serves on the Homeland Security Committee, Judiciary Committee, Budget Committee, and House Administration committee
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