Mission in Iraq needs to end soon

Murtha SPECIAL FOR

THE REPUBLIC Dec. 18, 2005 12:00 AM

The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion. The American public is way ahead of us. The United States and coalition troops have done all they can in Iraq, but it is time for a change in direction.

Our military is suffering. The future of our country is at risk. We cannot continue on the present course with our military entrenched in open-ended nation building. Continued military action in Iraq is not in the best interest of the United States, the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf region.

Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, said in a September hearing, "The perception of occupation in Iraq is a major driving force behind the insurgency."

Gen. John Abizaid said on the same date, "Reducing the size and visibility of the coalition forces in Iraq is a part of our counterinsurgency strategy."

For 2 1/2 years, I have been concerned about the U.S. policy and the plan in Iraq. I have addressed my concerns with the administration and the Pentagon and have spoken out in public about my concerns. The main reason for going to war has been discredited.

"Mission creep" is one thing that most leaders try to avoid, but the war in Iraq and the president's new explanation go beyond even mission creep. It is mission leap!

This is a big problem. If the resolution to go to war, simply stated, was to spread democracy and get rid of a brutal dictator, that would be one thing. But it presented many other reasons that were absolutely crucial to the vote and to the continued support of the American people. These turned out not to be true.

A 'misled' parent

I recently received a letter from the parent of a military member who is being deployed to Iraq. He said this:

When the Bush administration "was selling this war to our nation on TV with talk of a 'mushroom cloud' over an American city, I fully supported doing whatever it took, and no sacrifice would have been too great. But now that it's apparent that we were all 'misled,' I can no longer justify nor rationalize the sacrifice of one more of our 'country's finest' while this administration attempts to figure out how to save face!"

The framework for invading Iraq appeared in a 21-page document titled "The National Security Strategy of the United States of America," which presents a justification for unilateral intervention by the United States. Simply stated, the argument was, "Get them before they get us."

In the case of Afghanistan, America's decision to invade was absolutely justified. Osama bin Laden was funding terrorist training camps in Afghanistan, and it was his followers who staged the deadly attack on American soil. This was terrorism. This was a justified retaliatory attack.

The threat posed by terrorism is real, but the administration has mischaracterized the war in Iraq as the "center for the war on terrorism." Iraq is an insurgency. Less than 7 percent of the insurgents are foreign fighters, and a smaller percentage are al-Qaida. Over 90 percent of the insurgency in Iraq is made up of Iraqis, predominantly Sunnis, who are opposed to the presence of coalition forces. As proved by the Dec. 15 election, they are not opposed to democracy.

I believe that a strategic drawdown of U.S. troops from Iraq is necessary for a stable Iraq and for their continued progress toward self-governing. The Iraqis respond and are motivated by dated milestones. As the president explained in his speech Dec. 12 to the World Affairs Council:

"The first milestone was the transfer of sovereignty to an Iraqi interim government by the end of June 2004.

"The second was for Iraqis to hold free elections to choose a transitional government by January of 2005.

"The third was for Iraqis to adopt a democratic constitution, which would be drafted no later than August 2005 and put before the Iraqi people in a nationwide referendum no later than October.

"The fourth was for Iraqis to choose a government under that democratic constitution, with election held December of 2005.

"At every stage, there was enormous pressure to let the deadlines slide, with skeptics and pessimists declaring that Iraqis were not ready for self-government. At every stage, Iraqis proved the skeptics and pessimists wrong. By meeting their milestones, Iraqis are defeating a brutal enemy, rejecting a murderous ideology and choosing freedom over terror."

Providing for common defense and security is an integral part of self-governing. As the Iraqis have responded to "dated milestones" in the past, I believe they will also respond favorably to an articulated dated milestone for providing for their own defense.

The war in Iraq has caused huge shortfalls at our bases in the United States.

Much of our ground equipment is worn out and in need of either serious overhaul or replacement.

We must rebuild our Army. Our deficit is growing out of control.

This is the first prolonged war we have fought with three years of tax cuts, without full mobilization of American industry and without a draft. The military and their families are shouldering the burden of an inarticulate war mission.

I have been visiting our wounded troops at Bethesda and Walter Reed hospitals almost every week since the beginning of the war. What demoralizes them is going to war with not enough troops and equipment to make the transition to peace; the devastation caused by IEDs; being deployed to Iraq when their homes have been ravaged by hurricanes; being on their third or fourth deployment.

Our military has been fighting a war in Iraq for nearly three years.

Our military has accomplished its mission and done its duty. They captured Saddam Hussein, defeated his army and captured or killed his closest associates. But the war continues to intensify.

Deaths and injuries are growing, with more than 2,152 confirmed American deaths. More than 15,500 have been wounded. These wounds are severe and include those who have lost limbs or their eyesight, those with traumatic brain injuries and those whose bodies are disfigured and embedded with shrapnel. It is estimated that more than 50,000 will suffer from battle fatigue.

I said over a year ago, and now the military and the administration agree, Iraq cannot be won "militarily."

I said two years ago, the key to progress in Iraq is to Iraqitize, Internationalize and Energize. I believe the same today. But I have concluded that our military presence in Iraq is impeding this progress.

It is time for U.S. forces to redeploy from Iraq in an orderly and rapid fashion and for our military footprint to be converted from a pervasive presence inside Iraq to a powerful quick reaction force outside Iraq.

John Murtha, a Democrat and combat veteran, is a congressman from Pennsylvania.