Report from my Trip to Iraq

I recently returned from the Middle East where I met with our men and women on the front lines in Iraq.  I have never been more impressed by, or respectful of the performance of the American military than I am today.  They are truly making us all proud.  Unfortunately, my trip also confirmed a grim reality: our remarkable men and women have been sent to execute the worst policy imaginable.  I have laid out a specific plan for what I think should be done in Iraq and what I have seen on the ground in Iraq has confirmed for me that President Bush’s proposed escalation is exactly the wrong course.

The President is misleading the American people.  When he characterizes the violence in Iraq as a fight between us and the “terrorists”, he is only marginally correct.  Only 10% of the violence in Iraq is attributable to Al Qaeda elements, whereas 90% is attributable to a fight between Shiite and Sunni factions.  This is a civil war and resolving a civil war requires political negotiation.  This is not my opinion, rather it is the consensus view of the U.S. military leaders on the ground in Iraq.  The way to persuade the Iraqis to enter into negotiation is to commence the redeployment of American troops.

The Bush Administration has said that as Iraqi troops stand up American troops will stand down.  This policy has been a colossal failure.  Since “Stand Up Stand Down” was announced in 2004, we have lost 2,500 American lives and countless thousands of others maimed or injured.  It has also been a fiscal disaster for the American taxpayer.  It costs the American military about $30,000 to train and equip and U.S. soldier, but it has cost the American taxpayers $65,000 to train one Iraqi solider or police officer.  The economic cost of this policy is a scandal. 

During my time in the Middle East, I visited the Jordan International Police Training Center where over 50,000 Iraqi police officers have been trained since 2003.  Since this time, the American taxpayers have invested half a billion dollars in this facility.  Trainees are shown how we detect an IED, how we search a car or building, essentially how we protect our forces from the resistance activity.  However, these trainees are not adequately screened prior to their training or tracked afterwards.  For all we know, we could be training the very people attacking our soldiers and innocent civilians in Iraq today.  This idea is scandalous beyond belief.

I flew into Baghdad on a C-130 plane with about 40 young men based out of Fort Riley Kansas.  These young men were incredibly courageous and ready to fight for their country, but their sense of anxiety was palpable.  They were headed into some of the nastiest, toughest, most violent neighborhoods in Iraq, and there is a very real chance that at least one of them will not come home alive.  I cannot justify the continuation of the current policy to these soldiers’ wives, mothers, fathers or children because they are being sent to Iraq to referee a civil war.  It is time to change course.  I have put forward proposals on how to correct this failed policy in a way that protects American troops who are serving in Iraq and respects those who have already made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.  We must make this change today.

Click here to read about my plan for Iraq.

Click here to see pictures of my trip to Iraq.

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