Advance Copy of Sen. John Kerry's remarks to the Senate regarding Iraq-DSM

[sabra]

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http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Advance_In_address_to_Senate_Kerry_says_Iraq_now_breeding_group_for_te_0628.html

Advance: In address to Senate, Kerry says Iraq now breeding group for terrorists
RAW STORY


Says 'there is still time to get it right;' Suggests empowering militias

The following is an advance copy of Sen. John Kerry's remarks to the Senate provided to RAW STORY on the eve of a speech by President Bush slated tonight to rally Americans on supporting his war in Iraq.

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Mr. President, tonight President Bush will speak to the nation about the situation in Iraq. And I think we all have a sense of what he'll say. He'll talk about the march of democracy and the courage of our troops across the world. He'll speak with pride about Iraqi elections and the end of tyranny, and stress the importance of fighting terror. And that's fine - we all agree with that - but those words alone won't be enough to improve a situation clearly headed in a perilous direction. We need new, strong policy to get it right in Iraq. Today, we have no realistic strategy to reduce the risks to our soldiers and achieve our goals. While our military has done a superb job, our civilian leadership has not, and our soldiers are paying the price every day. We need a realistic plan for success. To do that, we must tear down the wall of arrogance. When the Vice President absurdly claims the "insurgency is in its last throes" he insults the common sense and intelligence of the American people, and diminishes our stature in the world. And how can we expect the Iraqi people to take us seriously and do their part when the White House says the insurgency is fading, yet they live in constant fear, the explosions waking them up at night, reminding Iraqis of the danger inherent in even the short walk to work or school the next morning.

While we shouldn't dwell on mistakes, we need to understand their consequences on our ability to effectively move forward. With allies reading the Downing Street memo, and the American people realizing the rationalization for this war changed midstream, it becomes that much harder to rally the collective strength of the nation and the world to our cause.

We have to acknowledge the past to overcome it, because the truth is the stubbornness of this Administration matters. It hurts our chances for success. It leads to frustrated expectations at home, makes it so much more difficult for the Iraqi people to embrace this cause, and makes it so much easier for sidelined nations to turn their back on a common interest and say: "OK, it's their deal." And the bottom line is that when it comes to war and the safety of American troops, there is no time for excuses. It's time for the Administration to tell the truth about what's happening on the ground and open up to new ideas about how to get the job done. Admitting mistakes is a necessary hurdle and a constructive tool for this Administration if it wants to build the strength necessary to get it right in Iraq. Admitting mistakes paves the way for elected officials and the American people to come together to move forward. Admitting mistakes lays the groundwork for a climate of cooperation that allows allies to add to our own strength. Admitting mistakes eases the concerns of the Iraqi people, and helps us make them understand that there will be no success unless they embrace the burden of their own future.

And that includes acknowledging that Iraq today is something it wasn't before the war: a breeding ground for jihadists. Today there are 16-20,000 insurgents, and the number of jihadists among them is growing. This is a growing challenge, and we need to take immediate steps to address it. Our officer corps reports that every time our troops kill or capture an insurgent, three more step forward to take his place. That is not a compelling strategy for success.

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[sabra]

1. Timing is everything....

[davidinalameda]

2. the CIA said the same thing in January

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7460-2005Jan13.html

Iraq has replaced Afghanistan as the training ground for the next generation of "professionalized" terrorists, according to a report released yesterday by the National Intelligence Council, the CIA director's think tank.

Iraq provides terrorists with "a training ground, a recruitment ground, the opportunity for enhancing technical skills," said David B. Low, the national intelligence officer for transnational threats. "There is even, under the best scenario, over time, the likelihood that some of the jihadists who are not killed there will, in a sense, go home, wherever home is, and will therefore disperse to various other countries."

[SoFlaJet]

3. A Freeper mind

will answer "he wants to sip green tea at a Bagdad Cafe with Usama(as they spell it there)Bin Laden and then cut and run"-I can hear it now on O'Reilly that is if he says it-and I catch it while I'm flipping my way to AMC...

[Cocoa]

4. I disagree about the militias

of course this policy, aka the "Salvador Option," is already well underway, and it's the road I think our military has already committed itself to following...

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/opinion/28kerry.html?hp=&pagewanted=print&oref=login

Iraq, of course, badly needs a unified national army, but until it has one - something that our generals now say could take two more years - it should make use of its tribal, religious and ethnic militias like the Kurdish pesh merga and the Shiite Badr Brigade to provide protection and help with reconstruction. Instead of single-mindedly focusing on training a national army, the administration should prod the Iraqi government to fill the current security gap by integrating these militias into a National Guard-type force that can provide security in their own areas.