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Press Office - Articles
DOLE: MUCH AT STAKE IN THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR
Author: Senator Elizabeth Dole
Publication: Charlotte Observer |
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November 19th, 2005 - We are today at war – in Iraq, Afghanistan, and so many other places in the world – with an enemy who knows no borders. The recent bombings in Amman, Jordan during a wedding celebration are a strong reminder that terrorists know no limits to their ambitions and the means by which they would achieve those ambitions, however violent and horrific.
The central battleground in the War on Terror is Iraq. It has been just three years since Iraq was liberated, and in that time, we have made tremendous progress. A constitutional democracy is taking hold, and the Middle East is moving toward greater stability. It is integral to the continued progress in this region and to the overall War on Terror that we not allow the cowardly acts of insurgents to derail our efforts.
Last January, the world watched as 8.5 million Iraqis went to the polls to vote in a free national election. Just last month, Iraqis returned to the polls for a referendum on a new constitution. This time, we saw significantly fewer insurgent attacks, with 9.8 million Iraqis voting, and 79 percent supporting the approval of the new constitution – a powerful milestone on Iraq’s road to democracy.
Iraq also has seen tremendous progress in new public services, infrastructure, free press, economic activity, and legal institutions that are critical to the long-term success of this democracy. For example, over 3,400 public schools have been built; and hundreds of water and sewer projects, 149 new health facilities, and over 250 fire and police stations have been completed.
Despite the evident progress, some want to cut and run, claiming that our troops have done all they can do, and that the United States should set arbitrary timelines for withdrawing our forces. I strongly disagree – this would only embolden the terrorists and send the message that the United States has lost its resolve.
This week, the Senate rightly rejected a measure that would have forced the administration to set an arbitrary date for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. The timeline we should focus on is December 15th – the election of a parliamentary government. The establishment of a constitutional democracy, coupled with the continued training of Iraqi security forces – now exceeding 210,000 personnel – will in time allow the Iraqis to defend themselves and the United States to bring our troop levels down.
Iraqi forces are now overseeing 72 percent of security checkpoints and leading 43 percent of combat patrols. Two Iraqi brigades have been assigned their own battle space in Baghdad in an area once a haven for insurgents.
This is not the first time in our history when skeptics have balked in the face of landmark challenges. A few years may have passed since I served President Ronald Reagan in his cabinet, but I can still remember naysayers attacking him for his fixed resolve in fighting the Cold War. They questioned his reasoning, his strategy, and America’s chances of coming away victorious in a battle to free Russia and other countries from communism. While the Soviet Union was extending its doctrine, President Reagan, in the face of severe criticism, pursued a different vision. We now know he was right in his actions to bring an end to communism – millions were freed and that global threat no longer exists.
Today, naysayers are at it again. Their droning doubt is all too familiar. Much of this criticism is being leveled by the very same people who, having access to the same intelligence as the president, agreed that Iraq posed a real and immediate threat and supported going into Iraq to fight the War on Terror. Now they want to throw up their hands and walk away before the job is done.
No one ever said this would be easy, and mistakes have certainly been made. This is a war – and it is painful and horrific. Every life lost is one tragic loss too many. But we must ensure that their sacrifice was not in vain.
Freedom and democracy in Iraq are the terrorists’ worst nightmare. They know what is at stake and try desperately to derail our progress. In a letter intercepted from Bin Laden’s deputy Zawahiri to Al Qaeda’s leader in Iraq – the terror network’s plan was exposed: to expel the Americans from Iraq, establish radical Islamist authority in the country, and extend the terrorists’ jihad into neighboring countries and around the world. They seek to destroy our very way of life. We cannot cut and run – we know all too well what is at stake in this global war against terror.
To our men and women in uniform who are protecting our freedom and our security – I say thank you for your service, and God bless you – you make us so very proud.
Dole, the senior U.S. Senator from North Carolina, is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
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