Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Mark Dayton today delivered the following remarks regarding the Iraq War and withdrawal of American forces.

“First, Mr. President, I'm a proud cosponsor of Senator McCain's proposal to name this legislation after Senator Warner. I will have had the privilege during my term in the Senate to serve under two tremendous chairmen, outstanding senators, and terrific human beings: John Warner and Carl Levin. Our Senate, our military, and our country have been fortunate to have their extraordinary leadership during these critical years.

“Chairman Warner, for whom this legislation would be named, is more than deserving of that honor. He is greatly respected by our Committee members on both sides of the aisle and indeed by the entire Senate. He has been unfailingly fair to all points of view, while leading with us a firm hand and resolute gaze that he learned during his own military service and as Secretary of the Navy. When he picks up his committee gavel, all of us— members, staff, military officers and other interested parties all know that we have a leader well-prepared in all respects for that enormous responsibility. Our Senate and our nation are indebted to Senator Warner and to Senator Levin for their superb public service.

“Mr. President, I have listened to many of my colleagues express their views on Iraq during the past week, and have waited for this opportunity to express my own. My colleagues reflect sincere differences and, I believe, sincere desires to uphold the best interests of our great country in a very difficult and complicated situation. We are all patriotic Americans, first and foremost, and partisan politicians later.

“I voted against the Iraq War Resolution in October, 2002, despite being presented with incorrect and misleading information by very high officials in the Bush Administration, which purported to prove that Saddam Hussein was developing nuclear weapons. I questioned the veracity of that information, and I had grave concerns that an unwarranted invasion of Iraq, if no weapons of mass destruction were found, would ultimately weaken – not strengthen – the national security of the United States by seriously damaging our standing and our alliances throughout the world.

“I also voted against the Iraq War Resolution, because I believed that such a decision by the Congress at that time was premature. President Bush was not asking Congress for a Declaration of War, as the United States Constitution requires. He was asking for a Congressional Resolution authorizing him to declare war, if he determined it necessary, at some later date. I don’t fault the President for asking for that blank check; I fault the Congress for giving it to him.

“It was over six months later that the President made his final decision to commence military action against Iraq, using the authority that Congress had granted him.

“In a similar vein, I believe that both the Levin-Reed Resolution and the Kerry-Feingold amendment are premature. One calls for the redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq to begin within six months. The other requires the almost complete withdrawal of those troops within a year. I believe it is impossible to foresee at this time whether either of those actions will be in the best national security and foreign policy interests of the United States six months or one year from now.

“The situation in Iraq is too uncertain and unpredictable to do so. That uncertainty and unpredictability evidence the failures of the Bush Administration’s conduct of the war effort.

“It is now over three years since the U.S. military swept from the Iraqi border to Baghdad in only three weeks, overthrew Saddam Hussein and his regime, and liberated the Iraqi people. Yet, after that swift and decisive military victory was won, the Bush Administration has failed to secure it.

“Administration officials ignored the advice of their own top military commanders – and this is an important lesson – and failed to commit enough U.S. troops to secure the country. Other mistakes followed – leaving security and political vacuums that were filled by foreign terrorists and domestic insurgents. During the past three years, violence in Iraq has steadily increased – and still threatens to rip the country apart.

“Like it or not, our courageous troops remain the only effective protectors of the Iraqi people from civil war or anarchy and a lawless bloodbath. That situation must change – but it hasn’t yet for our military commanders in Iraq to recommend a reduction in U.S. forces level there.

“Unfortunately, the bad conditions in Iraq today could become even worse – much worse – if our troops begin or complete their withdrawals before Iraqi forces are able to take their places. That training and equipping of Iraqi replacements should have been completed already. But it has not.

“I don’t know what that timetable is. I am skeptical that anyone else in this body does, either. The Bush Administration should tell us – but they won’t – which means they still don’t know, either. So, it seems to me necessary not to decide – and certainly not to act – until we have that information.

“It is imperative not to make future mistakes that will compound the previous mistakes. And we certainly should not decide or act, until we have listened to the current views of the U.S. military commanders responsible for successfully completing our mission in Iraq and for protecting the lives and safety of the 133,000 heroic Americans now stationed in Iraq.

“I serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee; yet, I have not heard those military views recently expressed. I respectfully ask the distinguished Chairman of our Committee to arrange for us to hear those views as soon as possible.

“I read a news report two days ago that General George W. Casey, Jr., the senior American commander in Iraq, will brief Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld later this week on his newest thinking about U.S. force levels through the end of the year. Reportedly, he will recommend keeping U.S. force strength at its current level, unless the security situation in Iraq improves.

“I want to hear General Casey’s recommendation and his reasons for it, before I am prepared to vote on any proposal regarding U.S. troop levels. I want to give our military commanders in Iraq and our American troops in Iraq what they need to succeed.

“Now.

“Six months from now.

“A year from now.

“Like most Americans, I wish the war were over. I wish it hadn’t begun. But we are in it. We must win it. We cannot leave Iraq, until the Iraqi government has established political control over its country, and until the Iraqi security forces can protect their citizens.

“We cannot leave what we started to end in a lawless bloodbath. And we must rely on our senior military commanders to tell us what force strength they need to successfully complete their mission. The timetable we follow should be theirs, not ours.

“Again, I respectfully urge Chairman Warner to summon our military commanders to tell us what they need and for how long.

“I don’t want any more incidents where American soldiers are captured, brutally tortured, and murdered, because there were not enough of their fellow American soldiers there to defend them.

“I agree with my colleagues about the urgent need for the new Iraqi government to accelerate their assumption of complete responsibility for their country’s services, security, and success. They need to tell us their expected schedule for doing so. We need to assist them in that process, and we need to enlist other nations to help them, as well.

“We must complete our mission in Iraq as soon as possible. But we must complete it with a lasting victory. And we cannot leave, until that victory is secure. We should be discussing what we can do to hasten that day. The Bush Administration should be telling us what we need to do to hasten that day. How to accelerate the social and economic reconstruction of Iraq – how to enrich the lives of Iraqi citizens, rather than the livelihoods of American contractors.

“Instead – all we get are cheap spins and thin slogans – rather than substantive proposals and sophisticated solutions. The Administration needs to set forth a plan of action in Iraq. A roadmap to final victory.

“That’s what we should be demanding.

“That’s what we should be debating.

“Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.”

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