Iraq and Murtha
Recently Congressman Murtha (D - Pa) called for the pullout of US troops from the Iraqi warzone over the next 6 months. This clarion call for immediate change has been met with a clear and uncompromising reaction from the administration, with everyone from Cheney to Rumsfeld going on talkshows to drive home the message that this sort of dissent and debate is unpatriotic and significantly hinders the war effort.
Of course, this would not have been big news coming from Ed Kennedy. But Murtha is a different character entirely. Known as a hawkish Democrat, Murtha served in the Marines for 37 years. He has been in the House for over 30 years, making him one of the most senior Democrats on the floor. In addition, he holds an influential post as the ranking member (and former chairman) of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
Backing away from the vitriolic comments of his staff, Bush said that he respects Murtha and his right to have a differing opinion, but he violently rejects the notion that pulling out of Iraq is the right course of action. He also tacitly implies that he agrees with the notion that this debate is detrimental to the war effort.
Most leaders, from both sides of the aisle, do not view an immediate troop pullout as a viable option. It would significantly increase the possibility that Muslim radicals, who have the only real national network within Iraq, would take over the government and revert Iraq to its former state. The worst case scenario would be a new Afghanistan, which we cannot allow. However, it is blatantly clear that the occupation has been mismanaged to an almost criminal degree. Report after report (excluding governmental reports) show that the Iraqi army is nowhere near our stated goals in terms of level of preparedness. As long as they cannot take over the security of the state, our troops are stuck.
The fact is that this debate is not only clearly needed, it is vital to our success. Without a public debate that allows a free exchange of ideas we lose not only our ability to make good decisions, but also our essential freedom as Americans. The contention by Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others that this debate is irresponsible is just ludicrous. Their main critique is that these allegations undermine the morale of our troops in the field, and give hope to our enemy. The harsh reality is that the morale of our troops is hurt more by a tragic lack of armor, support, and an increased insurgency presence than by any allegations made at home. As for giving hope to the enemy, it would be negligent of us to blindly continue forward without examining our strategy just because we think it might give some hope to our enemy.
Our government needs to do more, not less, in terms of transparency and accountability in this war. The Senate just passed a bill that requires the adminstration to provide quarterly updates on the progress of the Iraqi war -- I find it not only incredible that they had to pass a bill to get this done, but even more incredible that this has not been happening already. I mean, who is monitoring the progress of our billions of dollars and thousands of soldiers? Isn't that the job of Congress? What the heck did we elect these guys to do?
Murtha claims that this conflict cannot be won on the ground militarily, and that he is trying to save us from another Vietnam. While I have a deep respect for his opinion, from where I'm standing I can't see how such an immediate pullout would be effective. Six months is not enough time to get from where we are to where we need to be. However, I do think that a timeline for troop reductions is appropriate, and that we need to focus our efforts on winning hearts and minds. Most of the money allocated for reconstruction, has not been spent yet. Why not? There's certainly no lack of work to get done in that regard. Security might be a problem, but the reality is that it will always be a problem. Let's get out there and start revitalizing the cities, and revving the economy. With unemployment at well over 50%, young poor men with too much time and no clear future are easily drawn into the nets of terrorist recruiters.
And above all, we need to get the Iraqi soldiers trained faster. If that means more trainers out there, then let's send more trainers. We also have to face the possibility that it might not be possible to get the Iraqi army trained to a sufficient degree anytime in the next couple years. What do we do in that case? If that is the bottom line, I would have to regretfully agree with Murtha.
Recently Congressman Murtha (D - Pa) called for the pullout of US troops from the Iraqi warzone over the next 6 months. This clarion call for immediate change has been met with a clear and uncompromising reaction from the administration, with everyone from Cheney to Rumsfeld going on talkshows to drive home the message that this sort of dissent and debate is unpatriotic and significantly hinders the war effort.
Of course, this would not have been big news coming from Ed Kennedy. But Murtha is a different character entirely. Known as a hawkish Democrat, Murtha served in the Marines for 37 years. He has been in the House for over 30 years, making him one of the most senior Democrats on the floor. In addition, he holds an influential post as the ranking member (and former chairman) of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
Backing away from the vitriolic comments of his staff, Bush said that he respects Murtha and his right to have a differing opinion, but he violently rejects the notion that pulling out of Iraq is the right course of action. He also tacitly implies that he agrees with the notion that this debate is detrimental to the war effort.
Most leaders, from both sides of the aisle, do not view an immediate troop pullout as a viable option. It would significantly increase the possibility that Muslim radicals, who have the only real national network within Iraq, would take over the government and revert Iraq to its former state. The worst case scenario would be a new Afghanistan, which we cannot allow. However, it is blatantly clear that the occupation has been mismanaged to an almost criminal degree. Report after report (excluding governmental reports) show that the Iraqi army is nowhere near our stated goals in terms of level of preparedness. As long as they cannot take over the security of the state, our troops are stuck.
The fact is that this debate is not only clearly needed, it is vital to our success. Without a public debate that allows a free exchange of ideas we lose not only our ability to make good decisions, but also our essential freedom as Americans. The contention by Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others that this debate is irresponsible is just ludicrous. Their main critique is that these allegations undermine the morale of our troops in the field, and give hope to our enemy. The harsh reality is that the morale of our troops is hurt more by a tragic lack of armor, support, and an increased insurgency presence than by any allegations made at home. As for giving hope to the enemy, it would be negligent of us to blindly continue forward without examining our strategy just because we think it might give some hope to our enemy.
Our government needs to do more, not less, in terms of transparency and accountability in this war. The Senate just passed a bill that requires the adminstration to provide quarterly updates on the progress of the Iraqi war -- I find it not only incredible that they had to pass a bill to get this done, but even more incredible that this has not been happening already. I mean, who is monitoring the progress of our billions of dollars and thousands of soldiers? Isn't that the job of Congress? What the heck did we elect these guys to do?
Murtha claims that this conflict cannot be won on the ground militarily, and that he is trying to save us from another Vietnam. While I have a deep respect for his opinion, from where I'm standing I can't see how such an immediate pullout would be effective. Six months is not enough time to get from where we are to where we need to be. However, I do think that a timeline for troop reductions is appropriate, and that we need to focus our efforts on winning hearts and minds. Most of the money allocated for reconstruction, has not been spent yet. Why not? There's certainly no lack of work to get done in that regard. Security might be a problem, but the reality is that it will always be a problem. Let's get out there and start revitalizing the cities, and revving the economy. With unemployment at well over 50%, young poor men with too much time and no clear future are easily drawn into the nets of terrorist recruiters.
And above all, we need to get the Iraqi soldiers trained faster. If that means more trainers out there, then let's send more trainers. We also have to face the possibility that it might not be possible to get the Iraqi army trained to a sufficient degree anytime in the next couple years. What do we do in that case? If that is the bottom line, I would have to regretfully agree with Murtha.
posted by slithytoves at 5:29 PM
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