America Needs a New Direction in Iraq, Not More Excuses
“We have stated all along that this was going to be harder before it gets easier…It’s going to be a tough fight over the summer and the plan is just in its beginning stages.”
– Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, military spokesman [AP, 6/4/07]
“I don’t see an end game…in sight.”
– U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker [NPR, 6/6/07]
In the wake of the deadliest two-month period of the Iraq war, 231 U.S. service men and women killed in April and May, the facts on the ground show an increasingly grim picture. It is time for a new direction – with tough accountability – not more excuses from the Bush Administration.
DEMOCRATS ARE DEMANDING OVERSIGHT AND WORKING TO WIND DOWN THIS WAR & BRING OUR TROOPS HOME
- Since January 4th, Congressional Democrats have held more than 200 oversight hearings on issues related to the Iraq war – addressing intelligence failures leading up to the war, the inadequate treatment of wounded and sick veterans, troop readiness at home and abroad, and reconstruction waste, fraud and abuse.
- As a result of information gathered at these hearings, Democrats are holding the Bush Administration accountable. House Democrats have already voted on several proposals to require accountability in Iraq and to end the war and will continue to do so.
- House Resolution Disapproving of the Troop Surge (H. Con. Res. 93) – Disapproving of the President’s plan to increase the number of troops in Iraq by more than 20,000 U.S. service men and women. Passed 246-182 (2/16/07).
- U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Health, and Iraq Accountability Act (H.R. 1591) – Holding the Bush Administration and the Iraqi Government accountable and setting a responsible timeline for the phased redeployment of U.S. troops. Passed 218-212 (3/22/07). Conference Report passed 218-208 (4/25/07). Vetoed by President Bush (5/1/07).
- Revised Iraq Accountability Act (H.R. 2206) – Supports our troops and holds President Bush and the Iraqi Government Accountable. Passed 221-205 (5/10/07).
- To set a timetable for the redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq (H.R. 2237) – Bill proposed by Rep. James McGovern. Failed 171-255 (5/10/07).
- Amendment to Senate-passed FY 2007 Supplemental Bill (H.R. 2206) – Supporting our troops and taking the first step in holding the President accountable for the war. Passed 280-142 (5/24/07).
- Debate and votes on the Iraq war, including rescinding the original authorization for the use of force, a timetable for the redeployment of U.S. troops, and other amendments to appropriations bills, are likely throughout the summer.
U.S. TROOP CASUALTIES RISING
- 127 troops were killed in Iraq in May – the third deadliest month for the U.S. since the war began.
- 3,487 U.S. troops have been killed in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003. [Department of Defense, 6/6/07]
- Of U.S. troops killed in Iraq over the past three months, 80 percent have been casualties of makeshift explosives. [New York Times, 6/2/07]
- According to one senior Pentagon official, spending more money to develop better technology to detect explosives will not resolve the underlying problem: “bigger armor, more high-tech detectors and jammers will only take you so far. We never will solve the problem until we can get better intelligence and can break up these I.E.D. cells. And that will require changing the attitudes of the local population toward these explosions and those responsible for them. The Iraqis will have to help us root out the people involved.” [New York Times, 6/2/07]
- Exacerbating the situation in Baghdad are instances of sabotage and betrayal of U.S. troops by allied Iraqi forces. In one incident, Lt. Col. Patrick Frank confronted an Iraqi police commander: “The reason there is distrust…is because I have a video of six Iraqi officers placing a bomb against my soldiers, and they came from your station.” [New York Times, 6/4/07]
U.S. TROOP SURGE IN BAGHDAD FALLING FAR SHORT OF GOAL
- According to a recent internal military assessment acquired by the New York Times, the U.S. military’s plan to secure Baghdad against a rising insurgency is falling far short of its goal. In fact, fewer than one-third of Baghdad’s neighborhoods are under the control of U.S. and Iraqi forces. [New York Times, 6/4/07]
- Iraqi military and police units that are supposed to be working with the U.S. military to secure neighborhoods in Baghdad are “often at only 60 percent full strength, if that.” [AP, 6/4/07]
- While U.S. troops are facing 15-month tours of duty, Iraqi military serve in 90-day rotations. [Washington Post, 6/2/07]
- Senior military officer, on the U.S. military’s Baghdad security plan: “We were way too optimistic.” [New York Times, 6/4/07]
- According to one senior military official: “We are starting to see more sophistication and training in their attacks...clearly the trend is going the wrong direction.” [Washington Post, 6/3/07]
- Despite the U.S. spending billions to detect, defuse and combat explosives in Iraq, military commanders and officials say the efforts have resulted in “no more than temporary gains.” [New York Times, 6/2/07]
- In a summer 2007 article in the Washington Quarterly, two Middle East experts describe the recent troop surge as “something of a ‘Hail Mary.’” [Washington Quarterly, Summer 2007]
GRIM PICTURE FOR IRAQIS
- Iraq’s government is virtually paralyzed by instability and has failed to provide the country with the leadership. According to Sadiq Rikabi, one of the prime minister’s top advisors, “solving the Iraqi problems and resolving the different challenges in the [next] three months would need a miracle.” [Los Angeles Times, 6/6/07]
- The United Nations has called the situation in Iraq a “rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis.” [Reuters, 6/2/07]
- Last month nearly 2,000 Iraqi civilians were killed, a 29 percent increase over April. [Reuters, 6/2/07]
- More than 4 million Iraqis have fled their homes since the war began in 2003 – many victims of ethnic cleansing. [United Nations, 6/5/07; Brookings Institution, 5/31/07]
- According to the experts at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution, “Iraq is a failed state dominated by sectarian war that encompasses Sunni and Shia militias, al Qaeda in Iraq, and, potentially, armed Kurdish fighters.” [Washington Quarterly, Summer 2007]
AMERICANS WANT A NEW DIRECTION IN IRAQ
- 76 percent of Americans believe the war in Iraq is going badly. [New York Times/CBS Poll, 5/24/07]
- 53 percent of Americans say the number of U.S. troops in Iraq should be decreased, over half of whom believe all troops should be withdrawn by the end of next year at the latest. [Washington Post/ABC News Poll, 6/4/07]