Countdown to General David Petraeus’ Visit to Capitol Hill: 4 Days
April 4th, 2008 by Office of the SpeakerNext week, General David Petraeus and Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker will testify before Congress about the Iraq war. As many media reports have made apparent, the intention of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker next week is simply to announce a continuation of the current strategy – the decision to maintain at least 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq indefinitely was made weeks ago.
The American people understand the enormous cost of the war in Iraq and are looking for more than running out the clock until the next President takes office in January 2009.
The Cost to Military Families
What Military Leaders and Experts Are Saying:
General George Casey, Army Chief of Staff
Fifteen-month long deployments are “impacting on their families, it’s impacting on their mental health. We just can’t keep going at the rate that we’re going.” [Wall Street Journal, 3/26/08]
Lt. General Benjamin Mixon, Commanding General, U.S. Army Pacific
“We are going to have to change our strategy in Iraq to reduce the numbers of troops, and thereby reduce the rotations and increase the dwell time that we get back here at home.” [Honolulu Advertiser, 1/27/08]
Lt. General Michael Rochelle, Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G1
“…I should mention that it’s clear that the increase in suicide, as well as other measures that we track very, very closely, are a reflection of the amount of stress that’s on the force.” [Testimony before Senate Armed Services Committee, 2/27/08]
Brig. Gen. Michael Linnington, Deputy Commanding General, United States Army Infantry Center
“Money is not the issue…They want an opportunity to catch their breath before deploying again and to have some control over their futures. They’re tired, and their families are tired.” [Wall Street Journal, 3/26/08]
Ret. Admiral William Fallon (USN), Former Commander of U.S. Central Command
“…I will certainly tell you that I think that our troops are in need of a change in the deployment cycle. We’ve had too many, from my experience, of several of our key segments of the troop population — senior NCOs, mid to junior officers — on multiple rotations. I look at my commanders, and some of them have logged more months in Iraq in the last decade than they have at home by a significant amount.” [Testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, 3/5/08]
The Facts:
· Nearly 1.7 million U.S. troops have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since September 2001 – more than 599,000 have been deployed more than once. [Department of Defense, 2/29/08]
· More than 782,000 servicemembers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are parents with one or more children – 40 percent have been deployed more than once. Nearly 35,000 troops have been separated from their children for four or more deployments. [Department of Defense, 2/29/08]
· According to a report by the Army’s Mental Health Advisory Team, “work-related problems due to stress, mental health problems and marital separations generally increased with each subsequent month of the deployment.” [3/6/08]
· An estimated 2,100 troops tried to commit suicide or injure themselves last year – up from 350 in 2002. [U.S. News & World Report, 2/25-3/3]
· An estimated three-quarter of a million troops have been discharged since the war in Iraq began – many of whom with compromised mental and physical health. An estimated 260,000 have been treated at veterans’ health facilities, nearly 100,000 have been diagnosed as having mental health conditions, and an additional 200,000 have received some level of care from walk-in facilities. [Linda Bilmes and Joseph Stiglitz, Excerpt: “The Three Trillion Dollar War,” 2008]