Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
On the Amendment Calling for a Military Timetable
For
Completing the Mission in Iraq
As Read From the Senate Floor
November 14, 2005
Mr. President,
In March 2003, the brave men and women of our armed forces were sent
into war in Iraq. Now, over two and a half years later, that war continues
and those brave men and women are waiting for what they should have
gotten long ago – a clear, realistic military mission with a flexible
timetable for achieving that mission. And, of course, that timetable
has to include a plan for withdrawing our troops from Iraq when their
mission is done.
On Tuesday, the Senate can start to put our Iraq policy on the right
course by demanding a public plan and a flexible timetable for achieving
our military goals and bringing our troops home. The absence of any
kind of timetable is not fair to our troops and their families. It’s
making the American people increasingly anxious. And it’s hurting,
not helping, our Iraq policy and our broader national security strategy.
Why is it hurting us? Well, for one thing, the perception that US troops
will be there indefinitely discourages Iraqi ownership of the political
process. It also fuels the insurgency, which thrives on conspiracy theories
about our intentions and presence in Iraq. The failure to put forth
a timetable is helping the recruitment of foreign fighters and unifying
elements of the insurgency that might otherwise turn on each other.
Former Republican Defense Secretary and Wisconsin Congressman Melvin
Laird recognized that when he said that “our presence is what
feeds the insurgency.” General George Casey recognized that when
he said that the perception of occupation in Iraq “fuels the insurgency.”
So did one of the top military commanders I spoke with in Iraq, who
told me off the record that nothing would take the wind out of the sails
of the insurgents more than a public timetable for finishing the mission.
Drawing down our troops in Iraq is also essential if we are going to
prevent the US Army from being hollowed out and ensure our military
readiness. And it’s essential if we are going to make sure that
our Iraq policy is consistent with our broader national security priority
– going after the global terrorist networks that threaten the
US. Despite the Administration’s desperate efforts to link them,
Iraq has been a dangerous and self-defeating diversion from that central
fight against global terrorism.
Unfortunately, the President is one of the dwindling group of people
who don’t support a timetable. They argue that a timetable will
embolden the insurgency. Actually, it will undermine the insurgency.
They argue that fighting insurgents in Iraq means we won’t have
to fight them elsewhere. That’s just wishful thinking, of course
– the idea that all of our terrorist enemies will be irresistibly
drawn to Iraq like bees to honey doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
They argue that the insurgents will wait us out if we have a timetable.
Of course, the insurgents could do that now if that’s what they
wanted – lay low and wait until we leave. They argue that if we
leave prematurely, Iraq will fall into chaos. The only problem is that
the insurgency isn’t letting up and there’s not much expectation
it will, as long as our troops remain with no endgoal in sight.
For months, I have been calling on the President to provide a flexible,
public timetable for our mission in Iraq. I am not calling for a rigid
timetable – I mean one that is tied to clear and achievable benchmarks,
with estimated dates for meeting those benchmarks. Today, I am pleased
to join with some of my distinguished colleagues in the Senate in offering
an amendment that demands just that. I hope that the Senate will finally
tell the Administration that “stay the course” isn’t
a strategy for success – it’s not even a strategy. We need
to correct the course we are on. To do that, we need openness, we need
honesty, and we need clarity about our military mission in Iraq. The
American people, and our troops in Iraq, have been waiting for that
for far too long. We can’t afford to wait any longer.
I yield the floor.
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