[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 83 (Friday, June 23, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S6455]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          U.S. POLICY IN IRAQ

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, the policy in Iraq is not working and must 
change. The current plan does not have incentives that encourage the 
Iraqis to take full responsibility for their own security or to make 
the difficult compromises necessary for a unity government to work.
  We have been in Iraq fighting this war for more than 3 years. The 
United States has sent hundreds of thousands of our finest troops to 
liberate Iraq from a brutal dictator. More than 2,500 have died for 
Iraq's freedom and close to 20,000 have been wounded, many very 
seriously. America has also spent more than $300 billion fighting the 
war in Iraq.
  Those sacrifices continue. We have about 130,000 troops in Iraq today 
and, regrettably, we will have more deaths and injuries before this war 
is over. We will also continue to spend tens, if not hundreds, of 
billions of dollars more in fighting this war.
  I believe that we need a change and we need a change now. That change 
is the Levin-Reed amendment currently before us.
  This amendment says that we will begin a phased redeployment of our 
troops by the end of 2006.
  This will force the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own 
security and to do so soon. They will have to replace our redeployed 
troops with Iraqi troops. This will create incentives to build their 
own police and military because some time soon they will not be able to 
count on Americans doing those jobs. This will also encourage them to 
put aside their political differences and agree on a government that 
works.
  This action will not come as a surprise to the Iraqis or anyone else. 
Last year, by a vote of 79 to 19, the United States Senate said 2006 
``should be a period of significant transition to full Iraqi 
sovereignty, with Iraqi security forces taking the lead for the 
security of a free and sovereign Iraq, thereby creating the conditions 
for the phased redeployment of United States forces from Iraq.'' What 
we are now saying is it's time for the phased redeployment to happen.
  The Levin-Reed amendment that I voted for says that ``the current 
open ended commitment of United States forces in Iraq is unsustainable 
and is a deterrent to the Iraqis making the political compromises and 
personnel and resource commitments that are needed for the stability 
and security of Iraq.''
  Reducing the U.S. role in Iraq also reduces the arguments made by the 
insurgents and terrorists that they are fighting an occupying army. 
When Iraqis are in charge of security, they will be forced to decide if 
they are going to continue to fight their own government and their own 
military or work together to rebuild their own country.
  We are not pulling out or abandoning the Iraqi people. We are moving 
to a support role while the Iraqis take the lead. That is what phased 
redeployment means.
  It is time for the Iraqis to work together and build their future. We 
cannot do that for them. This amendment sets in place a plan to provide 
the conditions for them to do it themselves. We have done our part. 
They must do their part and they must do it soon

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