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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