March 24, 2006

Three Years in Iraq

By Congressman Joe Pitts

It has now been three years since U.S. and coalition forces began the operations in Iraq that led to the fall of a violent and ruthless dictator and the liberation of 26 million Iraqis.

This third anniversary provides a natural opportunity for stepping back and taking stock of where things stand in Iraq.  Clearly, challenges remain to be met in this fledgling democracy.  One can read any major newspaper or watch any news broadcast to learn of our challenges and setbacks.

But I believe there is also an amazing story of progress and accomplishment in Iraq that is largely going untold in the mainstream media.  If we are to maintain our resolve in this vitally important mission, it is important that Americans hear that side of the story as well. 

A Budding Democracy

The most obvious objective our troops have accomplished is regime change.  We are tempted to take this fact for granted, but it is important that we not diminish the incredible magnitude of this accomplishment.  Just three years ago, Iraq was ruled by Saddam Hussein – a brutally evil tyrant who flouted U.N. resolutions and ruled his people with a murderous brand of authoritarianism.

Because of our soldiers’ brave efforts, Saddam’s reign has been consigned to the history books.

In its place is a budding democracy.  Through widespread participation in historic elections and referendums, Iraqis have adopted a constitution that respects the rule of law and elected a representative government.

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad has stressed the importance of this representative government’s formation, saying, “Once a national unity government is formed, the effort to provoke a civil war will face a huge obstacle.”

A unity government is forming – the new Iraqi Parliament gathered formally for the first time in March – and the democratic representation that it brings with it will now begin taking root.

Anti-terrorism Successes

Though there are still those who pursue violence in Iraq, progress has been made in fighting the Iraq insurgency.  In a recent operation northeast of Fallujah, coalition and Iraqi forces detained 62 suspected terrorists, some of whom were al-Qaeda facilitators involved in the logistical support of suicide bombers, foreign fighters and the funding of terrorist activities.

The number of monthly tips providing critical intelligence to thwart bomb and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks has grown from 400 tips last March to over 4,000 in December.

Not long ago, coalition forces discovered northwest of Baghdad a weapons cache containing more than 3,000 pieces of munitions – one of the largest weapons caches found in that region to date.

Though we hear daily about the violence in Iraq, successes like these and many others are happening every day.

Training Iraqi Security Forces

On several occasions, President Bush has said that “as Iraqis stand up, America and our coalition will stand down.”  That is, rather than setting arbitrary timetables for withdrawing from Iraq, President Bush is committed to staying until Iraqis are fully capable of securing their own country.

Accordingly, the training of the Iraqi Security Forces has been a top priority of our military personnel in Iraq.  As of March 6, 2006, a total of 240,600 Iraqi Security Forces have been trained and equipped.  They are comprised of 112,900 Ministry of Defense Forces and 127,700 Ministry of Interior Forces including police and highway patrol.

More than 130 Iraqi battalions are now fighting the enemy, with 40 of those battalions taking the lead and assuming primary control of their own areas of responsibility. Iraqi units have the primary responsibility for more than 30,000 square miles of Iraq – an increase of roughly 20,000 square miles since the beginning of the war.

It has been a tough three years in Iraq – war is never an easy undertaking – but we are making progress, and we must not lose our resolve now.  To do so would not only be an enormous insult to those who have given their lives for this cause, but it would also serve to validate the terrorists’ strategy.

They believe our resolve is weak.  They think that if they can incite enough violence, they will ultimately force our withdrawal. 

We must show them that they are gravely mistaken.  We must finish the job in Iraq.

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