Five Years in Iraq is Enough
17 March 2008 8:24 am by Taylor Marsh
Pat
Lang weighs in on Iraq today:
Today, Senator Clinton made a comprehensive and forthright statement concerning
her future policy with regard to Iraq. Given the pattern of press coverage
and the evident attention span of the electorate, it probably won’t get the
coverage it deserves. It hits all the bases, is clear, unequivocal and creates
the skeleton for a policy in the Middle East that can lead us out of the morass.
I hope she gets a chance to carry it out.
Here are the
basics from Clinton (text of her speech):
I. Start Bringing Our Troops Home
- Bring Our Troops Home. As President, one of Hillary’s first official actions
will be to convene the Joint Chiefs of Staff, her Secretary of Defense,
and her National Security Council. She will direct them to draw up a clear,
comprehensive plan for withdrawal that starts removing our troops within
60 days. The plan for withdrawal will incorporate the most effective on-the-ground
strategies and tactics to move personnel and equipment efficiently out of
combat zones and then out of the country, and will focus on protecting our
troops and reducing the risk of attacks as they come home- Hillary knows that as we bring our troops and contractors home, we cannot
lose sight of our very real strategic interests in this region. Al Qaeda
terrorist cells continue to operate in Iraq, cells that did not exist before
President Bush’s failed policy. Under Hillary’s plan the United
States will retain counterterrorism forces in Iraq and the region to fight
al Qaeda and will not permit terrorists to have a safe haven in Iraq from
which to attack the United States or its allies.- Protecting Those Who Protect Us. As President, Hillary will ensure that
our troops receive sufficient time at home between deployments to rest,
reconnect with their families, and receive appropriate training for their
next mission.- Reduce Strains on Our Troops. The war is placing tremendous strain on
our armed forces, courting strategic risks posed by a force that is stretched
to the breaking point. As President, Hillary will adopt the recommendations
of Rep. John Murtha to ensure that our Army troops have as much time at
home as they have spent deployed. So for every month they spend in the field,
they will be guaranteed one month here at home. Our Marines will have a
similar standard appropriate for their service in the Corps. As President,
Hillary will also require that the Secretary of Defense certify to the Congress
full combat-brigade readiness before they are deployed.- Assess Impact of Iraq Deployments on Readiness. In the Senate, Hillary
won approval of measures to provide greater transparency about the strains
on our armed forces, particularly in light of deployments in Iraq. Her amendment
to the 2008 Defense Authorization Act requires the Government Accountability
Office to assess the ability of ground forces to meet the requirements of
increased force levels in Iraq and Afghanistan and to identify and evaluate
strategic and operational risks. As President, she will direct the Secretary
of Defense to develop a readiness strategy that responds to the findings
of these assessments.- Remove Armed Private Military Contractors in Iraq. As U.S. troops begin
to withdraw, we should not be leaving unaccountable, often irresponsible
private military contractors to carry arms and engage in combat-oriented
missions and security functions. Hillary has co-sponsored the Stop Security
Outsourcing Act, which seeks to end this practice. As President, Hillary
will work toward a ban on armed private military contractors providing security
for diplomatic personnel and performing mission-critical functions.- Stop Wasting Money on No-Bid Contracts. Spending on federal contracts
has been the fasting-growing part of the discretionary budget over the past
six years, yet has received little attention. Under this Administration,
the number of no-bid contracts has more than doubled, and between 2000 and
2006, spending on these contracts has increased 121 percent to $103 billion,
representing more than half of federal procurement spending. During this
time, companies like Halliburton have enjoyed record profits, thanks to
a 700 percent increase in taxpayer funds awarded to them. A recent Congressional
report identified a wide range of contracts, running into the hundreds of
billions of dollars, where federal auditors found massive overcharges, wasteful
spending, and poor oversight. Hillary has proposed a measure that would
create a new “point of order” against any spending bill in Fiscal
2009 that does not explicitly require a federal agency’s compliance
with competitive contracting rules. As President, Hillary will work to ensure
that this becomes law and that we stop wasting money on no-bid contracts.II. Secure stability in Iraq as we Bring our Troops Home.
Greater political and economic stability means safer conditions for our
departing troops and a smoother disengagement from our military’s missions
across Iraq. In order to foster stability as U.S. troops begin to redeploy,
Hillary will focus on political reconciliation inside Iraq and holding the
Iraqi government accountable for political and economic progress. She will:
- Call Upon the United Nations to Play a Greater Role in Addressing Domestic
Strife in Iraq. As President, Hillary will press the United Nations to play
a central role in bringing about national accommodation in Iraq, as it did
with positive results in Bosnia, East Timor, and elsewhere. Not having been
a party to the mistakes of the past five years, the UN, which has already
provided valuable technical assistance to Iraq, is far more likely to be
viewed as a neutral, honest broker than the United States – especially
when it acts on behalf of a broad coalition of concerned states and the
international community. The new UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has
indicated he is willing to play a key role in assisting the Iraqis, and
Hillary will ensure that the UN envoy in Iraq has the necessary authority
by obtaining the Security Council’s explicit endorsement of a strengthened
UN mandate to promote reconciliation.- Pursue an Integrated Strategy to Bring Stability to Iraq. The surge has
emphasized a bottom-up strategy that has reduced violence in the short term
but, in the absence of an effective national strategy, risks deepening sectarian
divisions within Iraq in the long run. For example, the United States has
established and armed local security elements – the Awakening in Anbar,
for example, and other “Concerned Local Citizens” elsewhere
– without getting the Iraqi government to live up to its agreement
to integrate significant numbers of these local militias and “volunteers”
into provincial police forces or the national Army. As President, Hillary
will pursue a strategy that seeks to empower local leaders, but she will
prioritize national accommodation, which is essential to stability. She
will do this by using U.S. and international influence and assistance as
leverage to press the Iraqis to reach agreement on key issues, including
provincial elections, the hydrocarbon law, and on the overall nature of
federalism. Hillary will press the United Nations into a central role in
this effort.- Appoint a Special Counsel to Make Reconstruction Funds Accountable. As
Iraq’s oil production increases, the potential revenue accumulated
from oil production should increasingly fund Iraq’s reconstruction,
instead of U.S. taxpayer money. Since 2006, Iraq has earned more than $80
billion from oil, and that figure is growing rapidly. Nevertheless, since
the beginning of the war, the U.S. has provided roughly the same amount
of money as the Iraqi government to rebuild the country (the United States
has appropriated roughly $47 billion; the government of Iraq $50 billion).
Even as we send billions to Iraq while they earn billions in oil revenues,
there are increasing reports that the Iraqi government is not spending its
budget allocated for reconstruction. The Comptroller General of the U.S.
testified that the capital expenditure rate for the central ministries in
Iraq was only 7% as of November 2007. Hillary is committed to ensuring that
Iraqi oil revenue is dedicated to reconstruction funding – and that
the money is actually spent, so that Iraqi citizens receive basic services,
such as electricity and clean drinking water, which are currently lacking
for so many. As President, Hillary will appoint a special counsel to investigate
where Iraq’s oil profits are going and how reconstruction funds are
being spent – or not spent. She will ensure that reconstruction funds
are spent wisely before providing the Iraqi government with more.- Combat the Black Market in Oil to Dry Up Funds for the Insurgency. Corruption
and stolen oil sold on the black market constitute a critical funding source
for the insurgency. As President, Hillary will boost joint U.S.-Iraqi efforts
to combat corruption and protect the oil supply. She will direct her Secretary
of Defense to plan a nationwide U.S.-Iraqi crackdown on oil black marketers,
ensuring that U.S. and Iraqi personnel have the resources and manpower necessary.
This effort will be designed to disrupt lines of funding for the insurgency,
to increase stability, and to reduce attacks on our troops during the withdrawal.
Hillary will direct the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction
to conduct regular reports on corruption in the oil industry. She will be
prepared to withhold portions of aid if the Iraqi government does not show
meaningful results in its anti-corruption efforts. Finally, Hillary will
double the funding for oil pipeline exclusion zones, which prevent illegal
tapping and attacks on pipelines; and she will also provide resources to
stop cross-border smuggling of black market oil.III. A New Regional Diplomatic Initiative
Enlist the International Community to Stabilize the Region. Our allies and
friends in the region all have a stake in a stable Iraq. Until now, in part
because of the way the Bush Administration has behaved, they have gotten a
free pass. No longer. As President, Hillary will have a unique opportunity
to reach out to our allies and partners in the region and press them to take
greater responsibility for what happens in Iraq. She will hold a major regional
stabilization meeting early on in her Presidency. This group will be composed
of key allies, other global powers, and all of the states bordering Iraq.
The mission of this group will be to develop and implement a strategy to create
a stable Iraq. In advance of that meeting, Hillary will confer with our treaty
allies as well as our friends in the region to coordinate policy before gathering
with the larger group of nations. One of her first international meetings
as President will be with these leaders, including Saudi Arabia, the Gulf
States, Jordan, and Egypt, as well as our European allies in order to push
for greater responsible action towards Iraq, including more assistance. This
will send a strong signal of our country’s determination – as
we draw down our forces – to ensure that the rest of the world plays
its part in stabilizing Iraq. Hillary will then convene a regional stabilization
group composed of key allies, other global powers, and all of the states bordering
Iraq. The mission of this group will be to develop and implement a strategy
to create a stable Iraq.
- Provide for Refugees. As our forces redeploy out of Iraq, Hillary will
also organize a multi-billion dollar international effort under the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to address the needs of Iraqi refugees.
The UN will also play a role, helping to deal with the resettlement of refugees
and others displaced from their homes, a number which now exceeds four million.
With the price of oil at record levels, the government of Iraq now has considerable
financial resources available. As President, Hillary will also press the
UN to establish a mechanism by which some of those Iraqi funds could be
used to feed, clothe, shelter, and otherwise provide for these millions
of refugees. Addressing the upheaval caused by this displacement will facilitate
a smoother exit and a less risky end to the war.
