February 16, 2007

Victory in Iraq Requires Resolve

By Congressman Joe Pitts

In just 97 words, the nonbinding Iraq resolution offered recently by Democrats in Congress manages to send a strong message to our troops, our enemies and the world. 

Unfortunately, it’s the wrong message.

Words matter, and these words amount to a vote of no confidence in our Commander in Chief and his top military commanders during a time of war. 

No one, including myself, is satisfied with the current state of affairs in Iraq.  Clearly, significant mistakes have been made and we must do better.  But holding a vote in Congress to publicly undermine our new strategy for victory is simply not in our best interest.

In a time when we should be working together to produce winning solutions, this resolution only criticizes and second-guesses.  It tells our terrorist enemies that there are cracks in our resolve, and that if they can just hold out long enough, those cracks will eventually cause us to crumble.

Sadly, this isn’t the first time Congress has conducted itself in this manner.  During the Vietnam War, I flew 116 combat missions as an electronic warfare officer on B-52s.  I distinctly remember how angry my fellow airmen and I would get when politicians back home undermined our efforts with their criticisms and micromanagement of the war.

It was wrong then, and it is wrong now.  Our troops need and deserve the full support of their Congress.

Those on the left seem to think that the war would end if we would only stop fighting and withdraw our troops.  In reality, the consequences of giving up on this war would be catastrophic.

Having proven their ability to outlast us, the terrorists would be emboldened to press the attack elsewhere.  With rich oil resources and a new base of operations, this would surely mean further attacks on U.S. interests worldwide, including within our own borders.

Giving up would also have grave consequences for the Middle East.  I recently met with Ambassadors from the region who stressed this point.  They warned that a withdrawal of U.S. troops before the Iraqi government is able to sustain itself would be catastrophic, possibly resulting in a region-wide war.

An empowered, advancing enemy, and regional chaos in the Middle East isn’t in anyone’s interest, Republican or Democrat.  Clearly, we must insist on victory.

To achieve such victory will require a multi-layered approach.  Iraq needs more than a military solution.  It also needs political, economic, and diplomatic solutions.

But right now, the violence in Iraq pushes the military component to the forefront of the overall strategy for success.  Without a stable environment, the essential political, economic, and diplomatic work of the Iraqi government cannot go forward.

It is with this reality in mind that President Bush has committed to a new military strategy for quelling insurgent violence in Iraq.  I hope it will work, and I will do all I can to support its success.

Ultimately, it will have to be the Iraqi military and the Iraqi government that provide security for their country, and I straightforwardly expressed this sentiment to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki when I met with him last year.

Until they are able to do so, however, America must support our own men and women in uniform who have been sent to help the Iraqis succeed. 

Members of Congress have a key role to play in this effort, but it will require us to do much more than hold highly publicized votes on nonbinding political statements.  It will take an unwavering determination to win.  It’s time to get serious about victory in Iraq.

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