Countdown to General David Petraeus’ Visit to Capitol Hill: 6 Days
April 2nd, 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 Our Military Readiness
What Military Leaders Are Saying:
· Gen. Richard Cody, Army Vice Chief of Staff: “When the five-brigade surge went in… that took all the stroke out of the shock absorbers for the United States Army…I’ve never seen our lack of strategic depth be where it is today.” [Washington Post, 4/2/08]
· Gen. Robert Magnus, Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps: “There has been little, if any, change of the stress or tempo for our forces…[the current pace of operations is] unsustainable.” [Washington Post, 4/2/08]
· Lt. Col. Paul Bliese, Chief of Department of Military Psychiatry at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research: “Soldiers are not resetting entirely before they get back into theater…They’re not having the opportunity…to completely recover from previous deployment and then go back into theater.” [Reuters, 3/6/08]
· Ret. Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro, Commission on the National Guard and Reserves: “We think there is an appalling gap in readiness for homeland defense, because it will be the Guard and reserve that have to respond for these things.” [Washington Post, 2/1/08]
The Facts:
· 88 percent of current and former military officers surveyed by Foreign Policy magazine and the Center for New American Security believe the demands of the Iraq war have “stretched the U.S. military dangerously thin.” Sixty percent say the U.S. military is weaker than it was five years ago. [Foreign Policy/Center for New American Security, 2/19/08]
· More than 464,797 servicemembers in the National Guard and Reserves have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 – one quarter of these brave men and women have been deployed more than once. [Department of Defense, 1/31/08]
· Even fewer Army National Guard units are combat-ready today than were nearly a year ago when the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves determined that 88 percent of the units were not prepared for the fight, the panel said in its report.” [AP/MSNBC, 1/31/08] [GAO Testimony, 2/14/08]
· Yesterday, the Army Vice Chief of Staff Richard Cody testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Army “no longer has fully ready combat brigades on standby should a threat or conflict occur.” [Washington Post, 4/2/08]
· The Army estimates once operations in Iraq and Afghanistan end, it will cost between $12 billion and $13 billion a year for at least two years to replace, repair and rebuild equipment lost or destroyed in war. [GAO Testimony, 2/14/08]
Rep. Tim Walz (MN-01) spoke on our nation’s readiness this morning. Rep. Walz spent 24 years in the Army National Guard, rising to the rank of Command Sergeant Major before he retired in the spring of 2005. Before retiring, Rep. Walz served overseas with his battalion in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He is the highest ranking enlisted soldier ever to serve in Congress.
Rep. Walz: “…And the Army Chief of Staff, General Casey, said the last six years of war have left our army out of balance, consumed by the current fight and unable to do the things we know we need to do to prepare for the future. In addition to spending hundreds of billions of dollars on this war, the cost to care for our veterans and rebuild this Army will take us decades. While our military is standing up and facing these challenges with dignity and professionalism, there are some here who say we need to stay the course and stay in Iraq for 100 years. This is not sustainable. This is not a plan. This is not security. We need real leadership that understands the cost of staying in Iraq and not redeploying our troops is making America less secure and not more.” |