Risa
First Congressional District of New Mexico
GO

Home

About Heather

District Profile

Constituent Services

News Center

Issues

E-News

Student Corner

Contact Heather

White Line Space
Default Image
Bottom Shadow
Left Space Hot Topics Left Space
Hot Topics Lines Welcome Home Hot Topics Lines

Hot Topics Lines Economic Stimulus Hot Topics Lines

Hot Topics Lines Social Security Debit Cards Hot Topics Lines

 

Left Space
Contact
Left Space


ask.heather@mail.house.gov

In Washington DC
442 Cannon House
Office Building
Washington, DC
20515
202-225-6316 Phone
202-225-4975 Fax
In Albuquerque
20 First Plaza NW
Suite 603
Albuquerque, NM
87102
505-346-6781 Phone
505-346-6723 Fax

White Line Space
Memorial Day 2006
White Line Space
E-news Submit Button
Printer Friendly
White Line Space

Congresswoman Heather Wilson, First Congressional District of New Mexico


Postcard
space
Way Ahead May 07, 2007
 
Dear Friends,

For the last ninety days Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have played parts in a very predictable play.

The Democrat majority passed a bill with deadlines for withdrawal and conditions on the use of funds that the President would not and should not accept. He vetoed the bill and the Democrats in Congress did not have the votes to override his veto.

Now that the first act in this drama has come to its inevitable conclusion, it’s time to get serious about the difficult path forward in Iraq.

While it had the air of inevitability from the first – almost like a fever that has to take its course -- the Democrat leadership has put themselves and their party in something of a box. They voted to set a deadline for the withdrawal of American troops and put onerous and ill—advised constraints on our military while in combat.

Now, with funds getting tight and three months further into the fiscal year, the Pentagon is shuffling money around to keep our military overseas supplied and supported. The effects of this will be felt first in units here at home as summer maintenance projects are delayed, contracts are slowed down and training is deferred.

The outlines of a workable Iraq supplemental spending bill are clear.

First, we must fund the needs of the troops in Iraq without handcuffs that make it more difficult to do their jobs. There must be no compromise with the "slow bleed" crowd who want to tie the hands of our men and women in uniform as a way to stop the war.

Second, there can be no timetable for withdrawal of U.S. military forces or limitations on the kinds of missions they can undertake after certain dates. America must always have wide latitude to employ our military might and to forgo its employment. Self-imposed constraints on our ability to pursue our vital national interests are always a mistake.

Third, those who are skeptical about the prospects for success of the current surge as well as those who adamantly oppose it and those who unconditionally support it are generally agreed that the will and ability of the Iraqi government to make progress toward reconciliation is critical. There is obvious common ground to be built upon here.

There may even be room for agreement on the consequences for the Iraqi government of not making progress. Those consequences should not be related to U.S. military action, but might be tied to continued U.S. economic assistance.

I do not overestimate the impact of conditional aid in this situation. If the Iraqi government does not find the threat to its existence and the stability of their country to be sufficient motivation, it is unlikely that making aid conditional will focus their attention more. But if the Iraqi government does not develop more of a sense of urgency on reconciliation than we have seen in recent months, economic aid will be largely irrelevant anyway.

General Petraeus and our men and women in uniform are giving the Iraqi government and its people an opportunity to address their political problems and move forward as a nation. This opportunity comes at great personal cost and sacrifice. It is not unreasonable to be clear about our expectations of them.

Finally, the United States must discipline itself to focus on what is vital to American national interests. Too often in the past four years we have lost this clear-eyed, hard-nosed focus. We have vital national interests in Iraq and the region. In particular, Iraq must not become a safe haven for Al Qaeda and it must not become a source of instability in the region. We all have great dreams for the Iraqi people; but they are the ones who must build their dreams. We can support them, but we cannot do for the Iraqis what they will not do for themselves.

Act One in the Iraqi supplemental fight is over. Now it’s time to govern responsibly and to put the interests of America first.

Wish you were here,

space



Privacy Statement
| Toolbox | Hablas Español?