WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations held a hearing with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage on the Administration’s proposal to reallocate reconstruction funding in Iraq.  Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-Westchester/Rockland), the Ranking Member of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee, gave the following statement:

“Good morning.  Welcome, Secretary Armitage, back to the subcommittee.  I look forward to discussing the state of our reconstruction efforts in Iraq.  

“I’d like to begin by expressing my appreciation and respect for all military and civilian personnel stationed in Iraq today.  They are working to bring democracy and stability to Iraq in an atmosphere of extreme danger, and I have great admiration for their courage.  This country owes them a great deal for their sacrifices.

“It is in that spirit that I will address the request we have before us to shift approximately $3.46 billion within the $18 billion Congress approved for the reconstruction of Iraq.  In general, this shift can be characterized as a movement of funds away from essential rebuilding efforts in the water and electricity sectors to deal with the deteriorating security situation in Iraq today.  I have great respect for General Petraeus and his staff.  They have put together a plan that addresses as best we can what is nothing less than an explosive situation.

“Let’s take a moment to examine the facts.  Since the start of combat operations in Iraq, 1036 soldiers have been killed and 7,413 wounded.  Since the end of major combat operations, which the President declared on May 1, 2003, 898 have been killed and 6,871 wounded.  The statistics on the security situation are equally as staggering:  in March of this year, there were an average of 20 insurgent engagements per day – by September that number had increased more than fourfold, to 87 per day.  

“The statistics speak more clearly to the American people than anyone in the Administration has -- of a failure to devise a coherent strategy for achieving our policy goals in Iraq.  Of a hasty invasion, with inadequate personnel and equipment, followed by a reconstruction effort that has yielded disastrous consequences. 

“The situation in Iraq today is the result of a colossal and tragic miscalculation that has required constant policy changes as we have struggled to secure the country.  It serves no one to continue to mislead Congress and the American people on what is possible, the pace at which security can be restored, or the costs.

“President Bush said last week, and I quote, ‘what’s critical is that the President of the United States speak clearly and consistently at this time of great threat in our world, and not change positions because of expediency or pressure.’

Unfortunately, the Administration’s track record is discouraging.  It began before the war with explicit statements by the Vice President and other DOD officials that Iraqis would ‘welcome us with open arms’.  This left the distinct impression that the Administration’s assessment was that the length of U.S. deployment and the cost of reconstruction would be minimal.  We know now that their assessments ignored the lessons history has taught us – in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and elsewhere – about post-conflict situations.  

“This was followed by the initial plan to spend $2.5 billion for reconstruction.  Numerous Administration officials proclaimed that this was all that would be required.  In fact, Mr. Armitage, when you appeared before this subcommittee, you emphasized to us that Iraq was ‘not Afghanistan,’ and that Iraq had an obvious and accessible resource – oil.  ‘This is not a broke country,’ you said.  Incredibly, that plan, submitted in March 2003, contained no request for comprehensively addressing the security situation in Iraq. 

“Later that year, in July, every member of Congress was given what was purported to be the long-term vision for Iraq reconstruction.  But by August it became clear that billions more would be required and Congress was presented with a hastily-conceived $18 billion reconstruction plan.  That original plan did contain initial funding for security, but no funding for job creation, education, debt forgiveness, or election assistance, and failed to acknowledge the military’s role in providing humanitarian relief.  

“Today, after one year, only slightly more than $1 billion has been spent, and we find ourselves in an increasingly insecure environment which has slowed the pace of reconstruction to a crawl.  It has become crystal clear that the President and this Administration have no coherent plan to win the peace.

“Focusing first on the security sector, National Security Advisor Rice claimed this week that there are 100,000 Iraqi security forces trained and operating in Iraq today.  Information given to the Committee, however, indicates that this number counts even people who have received one day of training.  Only an estimated 22,700 personnel have received enough basic training to make them minimally effective at their tasks. 

“With regard to specific security sub-sectors, let’s do a reality check:

• “The initial plan was to field 120,000 police.  In July, 90,000 was the new target.  This new plan requests funding to add 45,000 Iraqi police to the force, bringing the total to 135,000. Only 8,200 police have even received a basic 8-week training course.  At the current pace of training, we will not have the original 90,000 trained until February 2006, and the full 135,000 until July 2006.  And these projections assume that recruitment will continue apace despite the fact that insurgents have targeted police recruits.
• “Initially, the U.S. disbanded the Iraqi National Army, but our strategy soon changed completely and we set out to train and equip a new force.  The July report claimed that all 27 planned battalions would be ‘trained and equipped by this winter’, and that ‘by September of 2004….10 battalions totaling over 10,000 personnel’ would be trained and equipped.  Today only 4,800 personnel, or 6 battalions, have been trained and equipped.  By mid-October we may reach 8,000.
• “The new plan envisions equipping 20 additional battalions of the Iraqi National Guard, for a total of 45 battalions.  But today, only 8 of the 45 existing battalions are even operational, for a total of 7,200 men.  
• “The July report also claimed that 10,800 of the planned 18,000 border enforcement guards had received some form of training by Coalition forces.  In reality, none of these guards have received any centralized training to date, and training is not even scheduled to begin until January 2005. 

“And, despite the Administration’s declarations that elections will take place in January, neither the President’s original plan of March 2003 nor the $18 billion plan of September 2003 contained any funding for elections.  Congress provided the initial $100 million for this purpose in the November 2003 supplemental at our own initiative. 

“Holding elections in January has now become a cornerstone of the President’s plan to democratize Iraq, and has been a critical factor in gaining support across Iraqi society for the interim government.  However, a stalemate between the Electoral Commission and the Ministry of Finance has meant that only $7 million of the $232 million in Iraqi funds set aside for the Commission has been made available to them.  Many of the critical elements for conduct of the elections, such as procurement of vehicles, voting equipment and ballots, remain incomplete, and voter lists haven’t been created yet.

“On the political side, no actual parties have formed yet, and there appears to be no process in place for that to happen.  Funds set aside for that purpose have not been spent because of the difficulties in identifying whom to help and how to help them.  This brings about the prospect that literally hundreds of thousands of candidates may register, leading to a ballot that could extend beyond 10 pages. 

“Mr. Armitage, I hope you can make the case today that this plan has what it takes to ensure credible elections can be held on schedule.    

“As for job creation, I’d like to point out that the original $18 billion plan envisioned no funding for this purpose.  Short-term gains in employment through the new proposed programs will be partially offset by the jobs that will be lost through the deferral of long-term construction projects.  In any case, while funds already in place for this purpose have enabled short-term employment of a number of Iraqis, we have had to curtail or shut down programs in areas of extreme violence such as Sadr City and Najaf.  Because of security concerns, ongoing programs operate through Iraqi subcontractors with no association made between U.S. funds and jobs for Iraqis.  Unfortunately, this means these job creation funds may be of marginal benefit to U.S. goals in the most critical areas.

“Taken as a whole, we have a bleak picture indeed.  Beneath these numbers is the sad fact that overhead costs on all reconstruction activities in Iraq are now ranging between 30 and 50 percent.  This means that for every dollar we appropriate for reconstruction, we get only 50 cents worth of work -- with the rest covering security and operating expenses.

“The bottom line, Mr. Armitage, is that we need to get this right.  The battle for global stability and security is larger than Iraq.  If American strategists cannot outsmart the terrorist insurgents – if we let them derail the bright future we have promised the Iraqi people – there will be serious consequences for U.S. national security objectives.  We will be endangering our leadership in support of democracy and freedom around the world. 

“Mr. Armitage, I hope your presentation today will explain how this reallocation will improve the security situation in Iraq in the near term, and how it will win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.  I hope you can tell us that this marks the end of the Administration’s incompetent policy to win the peace in Iraq, and that this plan will succeed where others have failed.  The American people deserve something beyond the Administration’s overly-upbeat pronouncements of victory and progress in Iraq.    

“Contrary to the President’s assertions on Monday, our concerns do not send, quote, ‘mixed signals’ about the U.S. commitment to bringing stability to Iraq or fighting terror.  American lives and U.S. taxpayer money are at stake.  Congressional oversight and honest debate are nothing less than essential to our democratic process.  Mr. Armitage, you enjoy a reputation for honesty and frankness on Capitol Hill, and I hope you can continue in this tradition today.”