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 Shays'
Views on Iraq
I share your concern about Iraq, and want to do everything
I can to help our mission succeed and bring our troops
home.
After visiting Iraq in July and August last year, I
concluded we needed to encourage the Iraqi government,
and specifically Prime Minister Maliki, to take stronger
action to improve the situation in their country, and
that the best
way to do so was to set firm timelines for Iraqi security
forces to replace our troops who are doing police work.
The United States went into Iraq on a bipartisan basis,
with
two-thirds of the House and three-quarters
of the Senate voting to authorize the use of force.
I believe we need to draw down the majority of our troops
on a bipartisan basis, and have sought to achieve bipartisan
solutions to improve our operations and reduce the violence.
The bottom line is we do not have the force structure
to maintain the number of troops we have in Iraq now,
and certainly do not have the capacity to increase this
force. Our troops have performed extraordinarily well,
but it is unreasonable for us to ask them to return
to Iraq for a third or fourth tour. I also believe it
was a significant mistake to extend their tours from
12 to 15 months and would be unconscionable to consider
extending their tours beyond 15 months. Based on our
military's current manpower, we will need to begin to
draw down our forces by the beginning of 2008, and it
would be wise to let the Iraqis know now this reduction
will take place.
On March 29, 2007, I
introduced H.R. 1837, which requires the President
within 90 days, to consult with the Department of Defense
and provide dates certain for the beginning and completion
of a phased redeployment of the bulk of our troops from
Iraq. Once the President reports these dates, my legislation
encourages the Iraqi government to hold either a vote
within its parliament or a plebiscite, or both, within
180 days. Unless 60 percent or more support the President's
plan, the bill states the President should begin redeploying
troops even sooner -- within 60 days.
On July 25, 2007, I
introduced H.R. 3178 to limit the length of deployment
for our servicemembers serving in Iraq to 12 months
for the Army and Army Reserve, and to 7 month for the
Marines and Marine Reserves. The bill allows the President
to waive this limitation in the case of a national emergency,
and creates an exemption for key command personnel.
I
also voted for H.R. 3159, the Ensuring Military Readiness
Through Stability and Predictability Deployment Policy
Act, which passed the House by a vote of 229 to
194 on August 2, 2007. This legislation ensures active
duty soldiers are provided a minimum period of rest
and recuperation that is equal to or longer than the
period of their most recent deployment. Reservists and
National Guardsmen would be provided a minimum period
of rest and recuperation that is at least three times
longer than the period of deployment.
While I am sensitive to concerns this legislation will
limit military leaders options for meeting manpower
needs, I am convinced the extension of tours harms morale,
places an undue burden on the families of soldiers,
damages the military leadership’s credibility,
and most importantly endangers our soldiers’ lives
by straining their physical, mental and emotional capabilities.
I proposed
an amendment to this legislation to begin the drawdown
of U.S. troops from Iraq within 120 days, and to
complete the withdrawal - except for those troops necessary
to provide logistics, medical and air support, and provide
a presence to deter a foreign invasion - by December
2008. I
also proposed an amendment to encourage the United States
to enter into a status-of-forces agreement with the
Iraqi government -- just like we maintain with 115
other governments -- to demonstrate our military is
present in Iraq with the full consent of the Iraqi government
and not there as an occupying nation. Regretfully, the
Democrat-controlled Congress -- like the Republican-controlled
Congress before it -- did not allow any amendments.
On May 24, 2007, I
voted for amendments to H.R. 2206, the U.S. Troop Readiness,
Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability
Appropriations Act, that will provide $94.7 billion
for our operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This legislation
sets 18 benchmarks for the Iraqi government and
requires the president to report on progress made toward
meeting those benchmarks.It also allows, but does not
require, the president to withhold construction funds
if Iraq does not meet the goals. The President signed
this legislation into law on May 25, and the report
was filed in July. According to the White House, ten
of the benchmarks were met or partially met, while
the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found seven
of the benchmarks had been met or partially met.
You may be interested to know, I
offered an amendment to H.R. 2764, the Fiscal Year
2008 (FY 08) State and Foreign Operations Appropriations
Act, to reconstitute the Iraq Study Group (ISG) to evaluate
the situation in Iraq, as they did last fall. My amendment
passed on June 21, 2007 by a vote of 355 to 69 and provides
$1 million to the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) to
staff once again the Iraq Study Group. The Senate has
not yet acted on this legislation.
Last fall, the ISG provided Congress
a thoughtful assessment of Iraq. As we approach
another crossroad in this conflict, having that insight
again would be invaluable. The new ISG report would
give Congress an additional assessment of the situation
in Iraq to augment the recommendations
of General David Petraeus and Ambassador
Ryan Crocker.
I have been to Iraq and its neighbors twenty times to
see first-hand conditions on the ground. These trips allow
me to make independent assessments of our operations in
Iraq: the training of Iraqi Security Forces; reconstruction
of critical infrastructure; and political, social and
humanitarian efforts. Following each trip, I report my
observations and recommendations to the White House, Pentagon,
State Department and Congress in an effort to improve
our operations. I also share my observations and recommendations
with Iraqi government officials.
While I am very concerned about the violence in Iraq
and the continued political stalemate, I saw areas of
improvement during my trips in April,
May and August
2007. It seems to me Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish politicians
are trying to accomplish more and genuinely believe
they can resolve their differences and run their country
if given more time.
In addition, there are significant improvements in
Anbar and other Sunni provinces, where tribal leaders
are increasing cooperating with U.S. and Iraqi security
forces to counter the violence wrought by insurgents.
This is a crucial development because Anbar is entirely
Sunni, Iraq's largest province and is the gateway from
Syria to Baghdad along the Euphrates river.
In Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi soldiers are doing a better
job of integrating with one another to address the violence
in the neighborhoods. Iraqi soldiers with whom I spoke
also told me they feel safer when they return home to
their families every month.
Another important improvement has taken place at one
of Iraq's two oil refineries. I visited the Baiji oil
refinery in the north where corruption has been cleaned
up and distribution of oil to Iraqi businesses has increased
many fold.
The bottom line is we need to give the Iraqis timelines
that allow them to resolve their differences. We attacked
them. They did not attack us. Given what we did to them,
it is our moral obligation to give them the opportunity
to defend themselves.
Letters
of Observations and Recommendations
I will continue to conduct oversight on our operations
in Iraq. I will also continue to pressure the Administration
and the Department of Defense to better define and improve
our mission and operations, to do a better job of ensuring
our troops have everything they need, and to speak clearly
and realistically to the American people about the challenges
we face.
- April, 2003, Umm Qasar: visit with
Save the Children to the Iraqi port city of Umm Qasar.
- August, 2003, Basra, Baghdad, Al Hillah,
Tikrit and Mosul: with Save the Children,
followed by Congressional Delegation fact-finding
trip
- December,
2003, Baghdad, Al Kut, Village
of Hochan, Village of Seid Abais: with the
Mercy Corps.
- January, 2004, Baghdad, Ad Dawr and Tikrit:
to visit 4th Infantry Division and to inspect Saddam
Hussein’s Spider Hole.
- April,
2004, Irbil, Suleimaniyah, Khannaquin
and Baghdad: with Mercy Corps. Click
here to read the letter written to Secretary
of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
- August,
2004, Baghdad and Fallujah (and
Amman, Jerusalem, Beirut and Damascus): to
meet US Army and Marine forces and US Embassy personnel,
in and around Baghdad.
- January,
2005, Irbil and Baghdad:
to observe the election.
- May,
2005, Baghdad: to meet
with Iraqi security forces, Ministers of Interior
and Defense, and Mr. Chalabi.
- July, 2005, Baghdad (and Amman):
one day trip to meet with the Mercy Corps representatives
in Irbil.
- October,
2005, Baghdad, Al-Anbar and Mosul:
trip to Baghdad and al-Assad airbase in al Anbar province.
- February,
2006, Baghdad and Tal Afar (and
UK and Israel).
- April,
2006, Baghdad, Ramadi (and Dubai,
Jerusalem, Tel Aviv)
- July,
2006, Baghdad, Balad and Erbil
(and Kuwait, Jordan and Sarajevo)
- August
17- 25, 2006, Baghdad and Sulymania
(and Israel: Jerusalem,Haifa; Jordan: Amman; Sudan:
Darfur; Lebanon: Beirut; Italy: Rome; and United Kingdom:
London)
- November
26 - December 4, 2006, Baghdad
- International Zone and Eastern Baghdad (and Egypt,
Turkey and Jordan): continued oversight and
consult with Allies on next steps in Iraq.
- April 11 - 12, 2007, Baghdad (Green Zone
and on Baghdad street) and Irbil -- to continue
on-the-ground oversight of the operations in Iraq,
including meeting with General Petraeus, meeting with
Iraqi soldiers and police, and inspecting a water
treatment plant and oil refinery in Northern Iraq.
- May
21 - 22, 2007, Baghdad and Ramadi
-- to continue oversight of political and security
developments in Iraq and to make specific recommendations
concerning the future direction of US policy.
- August
11-12, Baghdad, Yusufiyah and
Taji - to continue oversight of political
and security developments in Iraq and to make specific
recommendations concerning the future direction of
US policy.
- December
2-3, Ar-Ramadi and Baghdad
- to continue oversight of political and security
developments in Iraq and to make specific recommendations
concerning the future direction of US policy.
Shays'
Oversight Hearings
From 1999 to 2006, Christopher chaired the Subcommittee
on National Security, Emerging Threats and International
Relations. Below are the oversight hearings my Subcommittee
held on our country’s involvement in Iraq.
Please click here to find the hearing transcripts from
the 109th
Congress, the 108th
Congress and the 107th
Congress.
Diplomatic Operations (18)
1. Are We Listening to the Arab Street?, October 8,
2002
2. Hearing on the extent to which U.S. policy understands
Arab social and political thought, as well as Islamic
thought, March 3, 2003
3. The President's Management Agenda: Rightsizing the
U.S. Presence Abroad, April 7, 2003
4. Humanitarian Assistance Following Military Operations:
Overcoming Barriers - examine problems encountered by
nongovernmental organizations providing humanitarian
assistance in the wake of a military conflict and prospects
for overcoming such difficulties, May 13, 2003
5. Humanitarian
Assistance - Part II - examine requirements for bringing
humanitarian assistance and stability to Iraq, July
18, 2003
6. USAID - look at why USAID does not have a strategic
workforce plan and how this deficiency affects USAID
efforts in post-conflict areas such as Afghanistan and
Iraq, September 23, 2003
7. Public
Diplomacy in Iraq, February 10, 2004
8. Oil for Food - examine the Iraq Oil-for-Food Program
and steps being taken to correct apparent abuses of
the UN-run humanitarian effort, April 21, 2004
9. Winning
the Hearts and Minds in Iraq, June 15, 2004
10. U.N. Oil-for-Food Program - examine operation and
management of the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program
in Iraq, October 5, 2004
11. Iraqi
Security Forces - to examine the plans for creating
Iraqi security forces capable of assuming the internal
security mission from Coalition troops, March 14, 2005
12. National
Security Subcommittee Hearing on Iraq Oil-for-Food,
April 12, 2005
13. Overseas Security - examine State Department efforts
to protect so-called “soft targets,” U.S.
personnel and their families overseas, May 10, 2005
14. Fostering Democracy in the Middle East, May 17,
2005
15. Efforts
to establish public access to essential services, to
form a unity government, and to grow the Iraqi security
and police forces, April 25, 2006
16. UN
Sanctions After Oil-for-Food: Still a Viable Diplomatic
Tool?, May 2, 2006
17. National Strategy for Victory in Iraq, July 11,
2006
18. Iraq:
Democracy or Civil War?, September 11,
13,
15
Department of Defense Operations (10)
1. Strengthening Oversight of DOD Business Systems
Modernization, March 31, 2003
2. The Runaway Costs Now Imperiling the Next Generation
of Fighter Aircraft, April 11, 2003
3. Joint Strike Fighter Program – to examine
whether the Department of Defense (DOD) will benefit
from sharing Joint Fighter Program (JSF) program costs
with international partners and improve interoperability
with allied militaries once the system is fielded, July
21, 2003
4. Chemical
and Biological Equipment - to examine weaknesses in
Department of Defense (DOD) controls over surplus chemical
and biological (CB) laboratory equipment and protective
clothing, October 7, 2003
5. Army Contract Management- to examine Army contracting
practices in the chemical weapons demilitarization program,
October 22, 2003
6. Missile Technology Export Controls - to examine
Department of Defense (DOD), Department of State (DOS),
and Department of Commerce (DOC) export controls over
critical cruise missile and unmanned aerial vehicle
(UAV) technology, March 9, 2004
7. Joint
Subcommittee Hearing on Business Process Modernization
at the Department of Defense, July 7, 2004
8. Reserve Component Forces - to examine how the US
military applies lessons learned from dynamic combat
environments to the development of training and equipment
needs, especially for National Guard and Reserve units,
May 11, 2004
9. Global
War on Terrorism (GWOT): Accuracy and Reliability of
Cost Estimates, July 18, 2006
10. Private
Security Firms: Standards, Cooperation and Coordination
on the Battlefield, June 13, 2006
Troop Force Protection/Health (9)
1. Chemical and Biological Equipment: Toxic Battlefield,
October 1, 2002
2. Research into Persian Gulf War Illnesses, October
10, 2002
3. VA Health Care: Access Delayed, Access Denied?,
October 14, 2002
4. Protecting the Health of Deployed Forces: Lessons
Learned from the Persian Gulf War, March 25, 2003
5. Force Health Protection, March 30, 2004
6. Hearing on Gulf War Illness, June 1, 2004
7. Occupational and Environmental Health Surveillance
of Deployed Forces: Tracking Toxic Casualties, July
19, 2005
8. Examining VA Implementation of the Persian Gulf
War Veterans Act of 1998, Nov 15, 2005
Further
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