John Kerry Speaks on His Iraq Strategy: Two Deadlines and an Exit, Introduces Senate Resolution on Iraq
April 6th, 2006 @ 9:43 am
In a speech on the Senate floor today, John Kerry lays out two important deadlines for Iraq – if Iraqi leaders can’t form a unity government by May 15, American troops must leave rather than be stuck in the crossfire of an escalating civil war; if they do form a government, we need to empower the new Iraqi leaders by agreeing on a schedule to withdraw American combat forces by the end of 2006.
The resolution Kerry introduced in the Senate today is attached.
Below are Kerry’s remarks as prepared:
Thirty nine years ago this week, Dr. Martin Luther King gave a speech at the Riverside Church in New York about the war in Vietnam. He began with these words: “I come to this magnificent house of worship tonight because my conscience leaves me no other choice.” His message was clear: despite the difficulty of opposing the government’s policy during time of war, “We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak.”
I am here today to speak about Iraq. There should be humility enough to go around for a Congress that shares responsibility for this war. I believe that the time has come again when, as Dr. King said, “We must move past indecision to action.”
When you stand in the “V” at the Vietnam Wall, you can’t help but see that half the names were added after American leaders knew our strategy would not work. It was immoral then and it would be immoral now to engage in the same delusion.
Yes we would prefer to see democracy in Iraq – indeed in the whole Middle East. The simple reality is – Iraqis must want it and embrace it. If the Iraqi leadership isn’t ready to make the changes and compromises that democracy requires, our soldiers, no matter how valiant, can’t give it birth from a humvee or a helicopter.
The fact is that our soldiers have done an incredible job of giving the Iraqis the opportunity to create a democratic future for their country. Our soldiers have done their job. It’s time for the newly-elected Iraqi leaders to do their job. And it’s past time for America’s political leaders to do theirs.
President Bush says we cannot lose our nerve in Iraq. But it takes more nerve to respond to mistakes than to stubbornly continue down the wrong path. Last week, Secretary Rice acknowledged thousands of mistakes in Iraq. Nobody has been held accountable for these errors, but our troops have paid the price. Yet the President continues to insist on a vague and counter-productive strategy that will keep U.S. forces in Iraq indefinitely.
I accept my share of responsibility for the war in Iraq. As I said in 2004, knowing what we know now, I would not have gone to war. My frustration is that many of us have offered alternatives and suggestions to correct our course in Iraq. Time after time, the Administration has ignored them.
The Administration is fond of saying we shouldn’t look back; that recrimination only helps our enemies; that we have to deal with the situation on the ground now.
Frankly, I think that accountability and learning from past mistakes is the only way to improve both policies and institutions. But, let me for the moment, go along with this idea – let me focus on the here and now. Let us face that reality honestly and act accordingly.
One has to live in fantasy world to believe that we are on the brink of domestic peace and pluralistic democracy in Iraq. One has to be blind to the facts to argue that the prospects for success are so great that they outweigh the terrible costs of the present approach. And, finally, one has to be incapable of admitting error to not face up to the need to change course now – Yes now Mr. President – this year
Our soldiers on the ground have learned many terrible lessons in Iraq. Now, it is time we learned those lessons in Washington.
MORE -
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=2543PDF of Resolution -
http://www.thedemocraticdaily.com/04.06.05_Kerry_Iraq_resolution.pdf
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