[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 137 (Tuesday, October 25, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H9050-H9051]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
OUR SITUATION IN IRAQ
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of
January 4, 2005, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) is
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning with mixed emotions for
our situation in Iraq. I am certainly pleased for the Iraqi people to
see that it looks as if they have passed the constitutional referendum.
The upcoming
[[Page H9051]]
December elections for the national assembly will be another important
milestone for them as well as their nation.
At the same time, it is impossible not to reflect on the other
milestone we reached today, the announcement of the 2,000th American
casualty with the deaths of two Marines in Anbar province last week.
All Americans mourn with their families and all that came before them.
This announcement comes simultaneously with the coordinated bombings on
two Baghdad hotels this morning by insurgents. We can see from this
attack and other engagements with American forces that the insurgency
continues. Defeating the insurgency will not happen with military force
alone. And it will not happen by American hands alone. We know that the
answer in Iraq lies in transitioning security responsibility to the
Iraqis themselves. The administration has been saying this for some
time.
The problem, from my perspective, is that the American and the Iraqi
people, if they are going to stay with us until the Iraqi security
forces are capable of taking over the job, must have a clear sense of
progress. Iraqi security forces must be able to take the fight to the
insurgents on their own and to inspire the confidence of the Iraqi
people. Similarly, the American public must see that there is a
connection between increasing capability of Iraqi security forces and a
diminishing American commitment over time.
For this reason, I have proposed a clear formula that can be used by
our military leaders and that can be explained to the Iraqi and
American publics alike, that for every three Iraqi security force
combat brigades rated level 1--or fully capable--an American brigade or
unit of similar size, type, and mission should be strategically
redeployed from Iraq. In terms of units, because a brigade is the
smallest military unit able to support itself and fight independently,
brigades should be the standard sized units used to measure Iraqi
security force capability over time. Additionally, in terms of
readiness standards, units rated at level 1 indicate that they have the
capability to plan and fight independently, without any assistance from
U.S. forces. In my view, 3 to 1 is the right measurement because an
American brigade surpasses its Iraqi counterpart in both quantity of
forces and in quality. I think this is a formula that makes sense, but
beyond the numbers, it is important because it is a benchmark that is
easy to understand and that sets reasonable, achievable standards for
both our forces and the Iraqis.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I propose that we apply even more resources
toward the training of Iraqi security forces to accelerate the effort.
If more advisory teams would do the job faster, we should add them. All
these advisory units should be staffed and equipped with our very best
officers. Instead of staffing them in an ad-hoc manner, we should take
those selected for command of U.S. units and assign them to advisory
billets. These are the officers the services have determined to be
their very best. Furthermore, we should make every effort to name next
year's advisers today and get them in adviser and language schools now.
We must make a combat adviser tour a highly career enhancing tour in
the military.
Mr. Speaker, I believe like the President that we must leave an Iraq
that is able to provide for its own security. Yet both to build the
confidence of the Iraqis and to maintain the support of the American
people, we must demonstrate a clear sense connection between increasing
Iraqi capability and a diminishing need for American forces. This
formula does that and I urge its serious consideration.
Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the following letter I wrote to
the President dated October 20 of this year.
House of Representatives,
Committee on Armed Services,
Washington, DC, October 20, 2005.
The President,
The White House,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. President: The recent constitutional referendum,
where Iraqis were able to cast their vote in the absence of
large-scale violence, is an important milestone for the Iraqi
people. I commend our forces for the role they played in
helping to secure that vote.
I strongly believe that we share the goal of an Iraq able
to provide for its own security. At the same time, both the
American and the Iraqi people must have a clear sense of
progress, given that the challenges to Iraqi security remain
substantial. Iraqi security forces must be able to take the
fight to the insurgents on their own and to inspire the
confidence of the Iraqi people. Similarly, the American
public must see that there is a connection between increasing
capability of Iraqi security forces and a diminishing
American commitment over time.
The latest quarterly report from the Department of Defense
on ``Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq'' talks about
the ``criteria for withdrawing forces.'' While it discusses
the considerations that will be taken into account in any
redeployment and talks about ``when conditions permit handing
over security responsibilities,'' it is not specific nor does
it give any measurement that the Iraqi or American people can
use to see progress toward redeployment over time. If we
expect the American people to continue to support continued
deployments in Iraq, we should be able to explain the
connection between the improvement in Iraqi capability and
the reduced need for U.S. forces in Iraq over time more
clearly.
I believe that we should set a benchmark that is easy to
understand and that sets reasonable, achievable standards for
both our forces and the Iraqis. In terms of units, because a
brigade is the smallest military unit able to support itself
and fight independently, brigades should be the standard
sized units used to measure Iraqi security force capability
over time. Additionally, in terms of readiness standards,
units rated at ``Level 1'' indicate that they have the
capability to plan and fight independently, without any
assistance from U.S. forces. Therefore, I propose the
following formula: that for every three Iraqi security force
combat brigades rated ``Level 1''--or fully capable--an
American brigade or unit of similar size, type, and mission
should be strategically redeployed from Iraq.
In addition to setting a clear benchmark, we need to apply
even more resources toward the training of Iraqi security
forces to accelerate the effort. If more advisory teams would
do the job faster, we should add them. All of these advisory
units should be staffed and equipped with our very best
officers. Instead of staffing them in an ad-hoc manner, we
should take those selected for command of U.S. units and
assign them to advisory billets. These are the officers the
Services have determined to be their very best. Furthermore,
we should make every effort to name next year's advisors
today and get them in advisor and language schools now. We
must make a combat advisor tour a highly career enhancing
tour in the military.
Mr. President, I realize there are a variety of reasonable
ways to look at benchmarks for strategic redeployment, but I
think any of them must clearly link to the development of
Iraqi Security Force capability to the redeployment of
American forces in a way that both the American and the Iraqi
people can plainly see. That is why I think my method of
matching the redeployment of an American brigade for every
three Iraq brigades that reach Level 1 readiness has
particular merit.
I stand ready to assist in this critical effort and share
your pride in all that our fine troops have done in Iraq and
around the world.
Sincerely,
Ike Skelton,
Ranking Democrat.
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