Statement
of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
On the 5th Anniversary of the War in Iraq
March 19, 2008
“Today marks the five
year anniversary of the war in Iraq. Although Saddam Hussein's brutal
authoritarian regime no longer exists, the war has been nothing less
than a disaster for that country, for others in the region, and unquestionably
for our own, as well.
“Four million Iraqis
are displaced from their homes and Iraq's profoundly weak central government
cannot provide its citizens with sufficient basic services like food,
water, and electricity or protect them from savage violence, disappearances,
or kidnappings. Tensions continue to rise throughout the Middle East
and, as the war triggers internal unrest in many countries, it has caused
our own credibility to decrease significantly.
“The war continues
to undermine our top national security priority - the fight against
al Qaeda, which has strengthened itself in Pakistan and reached out
to new affiliates around the world. According to the Congressional Research
Service, the war costs us over $10 billion a month in direct costs.
The war saps our military, which is stretched too thin to keep us safe
here at home. In short, the war is making us weaker, not stronger, and
that trend is not likely to change.
“America continues
to be mired in a conflict that has no end in sight. As of the beginning
of this week a total of 3,978 American soldiers had been killed and
29,395 wounded. While the administration touts a recent decline in violence
as an indication that the surge is ‘working,’ there is little
political progress that might indicate the decrease in violence will
result in genuine national reconciliation. As the region remains particularly
fragile and our international credibility profoundly damaged, Americans
ask each other just how many more billions of dollars will be spent
and how many more of our brave troops will die or be injured while we
wait for national reconciliation in Iraq--which is the only way to end
the violence.
“Recently, many of
my Republican colleagues stood on the Senate floor to sing their praises
of the surge, but now we may be witnessing a reemergence of the brutal
violence that was said to have dissipated. Earlier this month, two car
bombs exploded, killing 24 people and wounding 56, while later in the
week two bombs exploded in downtown Baghdad, killing nearly 70 people
and wounding over 120. On March 10th a suicide bomber approached five
American soldiers in Baghdad and detonated a bomb killing all five soldiers
and injuring three more. This attack was labeled the worst attack on
U.S. forces in months and it comes only days after a female suicide
bomber blew herself up in the home of a Sunni leader who was reported
to have been working in collaboration with U.S. forces.
“Similarly, another
political impasse in Parliament may result in little tangible results
from recently passed and supposedly key legislation. Yes, a de-baathification
law has passed but it may usher in renewed sectarian tensions as former
officials from Hussein's regime try to reclaim their old jobs. A provincial
powers election law was sent back to the Parliament by the President's
Council--requiring another round of drafting before it is able to move
forward. As we well know, working on a law and even passing it is one
thing--seeing it successfully implemented is another.
“National reconciliation
still looks far off. The passage of what the administration is calling
``benchmark'' laws does not ensure society-wide sectarian reconciliation;
in fact, there are significant concerns about how the local efforts
we have supported to bring about this decline in violence will be integrated
into the national framework. The Sunni Awakening has taken tens of thousands
of former-insurgent Sunni militia fighters and it is unclear to what
extent we can rely on their loyalties. It is not hard to see, however,
that this policy risks increasing distrust between the local Sunnis
and national government, which is led predominately by Shi'ites.
“Without a legitimate
political settlement at the national level, any decline in violence
in Iraq is likely to be tenuous. Recent news from Iraq seems to indicate
that any gains in security are already slipping and without a strategy
for safe redeployment, it is inevitably our brave men and women who
will pay the price.
“The war in Iraq drags
on while al-Qaida has reconstituted and strengthened itself. The Director
of National Intelligence, DNI, recently testified before Congress that
al-Qaida's central leadership based in the border area of Pakistan is
its most dangerous component. And just a few months ago, the DNI again
repeated the Intelligence Community's assessment that, over the last
two years, ‘al Qaeda's central leadership has been able to regenerate
the core operational capabilities needed to conduct attacks in the Homeland.’
“It was from Afghanistan,
not Iraq, that the 9/11 attacks were planned and it was under the Taliban
regime, which is once again gaining ground, that al-Qaida was able to
flourish so freely. With a recent report warning that we are not winning
in Afghanistan, we need to rethink our current Iraq-based strategy so
we can counter the threat posed by al Qaida around the world.
“On the 5th anniversary
of the US-led invasion in Iraq, it is clear that continuing the current
open-ended military policy doesn't make sense. The American people certainly
know that this war doesn't make sense and they expect us to do everything
in our power to end it. We in Congress cannot in good conscience put
Iraq on the backburner, and we cannot turn a blind eye or feign helplessness
as the administration keeps pursuing its misguided policies.
“This Congress has
no greater priority than making right the mistake it made over five
years ago when it authorized the war in Iraq. I do not want the American
people to lose faith in their elected leaders for pursuing a war that
they rightly oppose. I do not want to watch a failed strategy perpetuate
regional turmoil any longer and I do not want any more American troops
to die or get injured for a war that is not in our national security
interest.”
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