Congressman Moore sent the following letter to President George W. Bush regarding Operation Iraqi Freedom:

Dear Mr. President:

I saw television coverage of your statement over the weekend recognizing the new unity government in Iraq. I am hopeful - and I know you are - that this government will be successful, that the government becomes stronger, develops political consensus and is able to withstand and defeat attacks by insurgents in Iraq.

As you may know, I voted for the use of force resolution, based upon what we later learned was flawed intelligence about weapons of mass destruction. But I am glad Saddam Hussein is gone and I hope the new government is successful.

Mr. President, we have now spent more than 2400 American lives and more than $350 billion helping the Iraqi people. I believe we have done militarily all we can for the people in Iraq. Ultimately, there has to be a political solution by Iraq and the Iraqi people if they are to stand on their own.

I hope you will consider this proposal: pick somebody who has the stature of General Richard Myers or Sec. Colin Powell to go privately, not publicly, to the new Iraqi government, to tell them that we hope they are successful – but now they have to stand on their own. They have to speed up the process of training Iraqi security forces who are willing and capable of defending their country. There are many former members of the Iraqi Army who are still unemployed.

And we need to begin discussions with the leaders in Iraq – privately, not publicly – of a timeframe for redeployment of our troops. I agree with your concern that publicly announcing a timetable for withdrawal would put our troops at risk. I’m concerned that political parties and new governments are very much like some people. If you undertake to do something for a person, some individuals will stand back and let you continue – and never step up to the plate to do for themselves. We must encourage the new Iraqi government and give them strong incentive to assume responsibility and stand on their own.

I look forward to working with you to finalize our involvement in Iraq.

Very truly yours,

DENNIS MOORE
Member of Congress