Congressional Leaders Call on President to Reject Flawed Iraq Troop Surge

    WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Senate Majority Leader
 Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi today sent the following letter to
 President Bush urging him to reject his reported plan to escalate the war
 in Iraq by increasing troop levels and delaying the ability of the Iraqi
 government to take control of their own future. The leaders cited the
 burden on the nation's already-overtaxed military, the likely failure of a
 surge strategy to quell the violence, and the dangers of placing American
 military into the middle of a civil war. The two leaders called on the
 President to instead heed the will of the American people, listen to the
 advice of America's military, and recognize the need for a significant
 change in strategy that begins with a political solution and a phased
 withdrawal of American forces from Iraq.
     Quotes from the letter:
     "We want to do everything we can to help Iraq succeed in the future
 but, like many of our senior military leaders, we do not believe that
 adding more U.S. combat troops contributes to success. They, like us,
 believe there is no purely military solution in Iraq. There is only a
 political solution."
     "Adding more combat troops will only endanger more Americans and
 stretch our military to the breaking point for no strategic gain."
     "Rather than deploy additional forces to Iraq, we believe the way
 forward is to begin the phased redeployment of our forces in the next four
 to six months, while shifting the principal mission of our forces there
 from combat to training, logistics, force protection and counter-terror."
     The text of the letter follows below.
 
     January 5, 2007
 
     President George W. Bush
     The White House
     Washington, DC 20500
 
     Dear Mr. President:
     The start of the new Congress brings us opportunities to work together
 on the critical issues confronting our country. No issue is more important
 than finding an end to the war in Iraq. December was the deadliest month of
 the war in over two years, pushing U.S. fatality figures over the 3,000
 mark.
     The American people demonstrated in the November elections that they do
 not believe your current Iraq policy will lead to success and that we need
 a change in direction for the sake of our troops and the Iraqi people. We
 understand that you are completing your post-election consultations on Iraq
 and are preparing to make a major address on your Iraq strategy to the
 American people next week.
     Clearly this address presents you with another opportunity to make a
 long overdue course correction. Despite the fact that our troops have been
 pushed to the breaking point and, in many cases, have already served
 multiple tours in Iraq, news reports suggest that you believe the solution
 to the civil war
     in Iraqis to require additional sacrifices from our troops and are
 therefore prepared to proceed with a substantial U.S. troop increase.
     Surging forces is a strategy that you have already tried and that has
 already failed. Like many current and former military leaders, we believe
 that trying again would be a serious mistake. They, like us, believe there
 is no purely military solution in Iraq. There is only a political solution.
 Adding more combat troops will only endanger more Americans and stretch our
 military to the breaking point for no strategic gain. And it would
 undermine our efforts to get the Iraqis to take responsibility for their
 own future. We are well past the point of more troops for Iraq.
     In a recent appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee,
 General John Abiz aid, our top commander for Iraq and the region, said the
 following when asked about whether he thought more troops would contribute
 to our chances for success in Iraq:
     "I met with every divisional commander, General Casey, the Corps
 commander, General Dempsey. We all talked together. And I said, in your
 professional opinion, if we were to bring in more American troops now, does
 it add considerably to our ability to achieve success in Iraq? And they all
 said no. And the reason is, because we want the Iraqis to do more. It's
 easy for the Iraqis to rely upon to us do this work. I believe that more
 American forces prevent the Iraqis from doing more, from taking more
 responsibility for their own future."
     Rather than deploy additional forces to Iraq, we believe the way
 forward is to begin the phased redeployment of our forces in the next four
 to six months, while shifting the principal mission of our forces there
 from combat to training, logistics, force protection and counter-terror. A
 renewed diplomatic strategy, both within the region and beyond, is also
 required to help the Iraqis agree to a sustainable political settlement. In
 short, it is time to begin to move our forces out of Iraq and make the
 Iraqi political leadership aware that our commitment is not open ended,
 that we cannot resolve their sectarian problems, and that only they can
 find the political resolution required to stabilize Iraq.
     Our troops and the American people have already sacrificed a great deal
 for the future of Iraq. After nearly four years of combat, tens of
 thousands of U.S. casualties, and over $300 billion dollars, it is time to
 bring the war to a close. We, therefore, strongly encourage you to reject
 any plans that call for our getting our troops any deeper into Iraq. We
 want to do everything we can to help Iraq succeed in the future but, like
 many of our senior military leaders, we do not believe that adding more
 U.S. combat troops contributes to success.
     We appreciate you taking these views into consideration.
 
     Sincerely,
 
     Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
     Speaker Nancy Pelosi
 
 

SOURCE Senate Democratic Communications Center