Senator Clinton: Thank you Mr. Chairman, and again I thank the Commission for your work in this excellent report. And I guess I would follow up to some extent on Senator Kennedy’s questions because clearly this is a very difficult dilemma that our country faces and that we, sitting on this side, face as well.
The theory behind the tactic of the surge was that adding these troops would create the political space for some kind of political reconciliation, reconciliation may be too hopeful a term, but certainly political compromise that could lead to a greater commitment to the stability and security of the country and an end to the sectarian and personal advantages that were being sought.
It is clear in your report as well as in the NIE that the Iraqi government will struggle to continue to achieve such national reconciliation. What if any factors that you assessed in your work on the security forces lead you to believe that the government will pursue this political reconciliation, General Jones?
General Jones: Senator, that question is a little bit outside of our charter. The only thing that the commission observed is that absent such a reconciliation, which has not been codified at any rate, even though we are encouraged to hear that in our conversations with senior Iraqi officials, members of the government, that they are working on it, that they understand the importance of it. But the fact is, it hasn’t happened, and we regret that because that certainly is a key to accelerating the progress that we would all like to see in Iraq. So we’ve identified that very strongly as essentially the starting point for good things to take place.
On the surge, I’d like to just say a few words about that. The surge had two components to it: one was Iraqi and the other was the Coalition. And the surge itself had an effect, but it had effect in the area where it was concentrated, and that is the Baghdad region. Two other phenomenon that also happened simultaneously to enhance the security situation were the unexpectedly good performance of the Iraqi army, which is a credit to our trainers and those who have brought them online, and also the stunning turnaround in Al Anbar province where Al Qaeda lost the popular support of the people, which has resulted in the country’s most violent province becoming one of the most peaceful.
So those three things, the surge, the Iraqi army’s performance, and Al Qaeda’s reversals have been positive in terms of the Iraqi security forces. But this progress will always be measured against the overall sectarian problem in the country and it simply has to be a political solution.
Senator Clinton: Well of course that’s our dilemma, because how do we get the appropriate pressure on the Iraqi government to do what we know they must do for the Iraqi people to have any future and for us to withdraw and hope that there can be some stability in the region.
You know, I am concerned that we are not getting answers to the questions that we need from the administration and, in fact, I think it’s fair to say that Senator Warner led the effort to have this Commission created to get an independent judgment because we heard so much contradictory information going back now so many years.
I wrote a letter to the President yesterday requesting that General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker be prepared to address twenty questions that come from the NIE, the GAO, your commission report, because at the end of the day we have to make judgments on whether or not we believe continuing military presence by American troops, whether they’re in Iraq for a day, a year, or ten years will make any difference to the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people. And I have obviously reached a conclusion that I don’t see that difference occurring. I don’t see the Iraqi government responding. And if we take away deadlines, we take away benchmarks, we take away timelines, what is the urgency that will move them to act?
You can have pockets of stability; we’re now seeing as the British withdraw in the south a lot of the militias vying for power within the south. You’re seeing the Iranian proxies, and the Saudi proxies, and everybody else’s proxies, you know, looking for advantage. So, I think that your Commission has certainly performed a great service, but one of the problems is that in evaluating Iraqi policy the administration and the Iraqi government keep moving the goalposts for success. And I am deeply concerned that we’re not going to see any difference in 12-18 months, but we’ll see more American casualties, and we’ll see the opportunity costs of our being bogged down in Iraq with respect to all of the other challenges we face, from Iran to the Middle East to China and everywhere else.
So, Mr. Chairman, I greatly appreciate the Commission’s report, and I have some additional questions that I would like to submit to the record, but I’d better go and try to get this vote in, and I thank you all very much.
Earlier:
Senator Clinton Calls on President Bush to Answer Key Questions on Iraq Policy
Read more statements by Senator Clinton concerning the war in Iraq.
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