[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 20540]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         RECONSTRUCTION OF IRAQ

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, this week, we have heard from many of 
the Administration's representatives, including several who testified 
before the Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, that our 
reconstruction efforts in Iraq are going much better that we read in 
the press reports, especially in the north and the south of the 
country. I don't dispute that: I was in Iraq earlier this month, and I 
saw the really remarkable efforts U.S. troops and our reconstruction 
authorities are making.
  But I want to state clearly: Out in our states, public support is 
ebbing much more quickly than one reads in the Washington media.
  There is growing concern about the steady and growing stream of 
combat fatalities and, as importantly, a sense that we have no strategy 
for stopping them.
  There is great frustration over the extension of military tours of 
duty in Iraq, something that is especially disruptive to the National 
Guardsmen and Reservists who are playing such an important role in 
Iraq.
  Last week, for example, an Air National Guard unit from Charleston, 
the 130th Airlift Wing, was told that rather than have the entire unit 
return to West Virginia in Early August, as scheduled, half the unit 
will need to stay on in the Middle East until the end of the year. And 
before the members of the 130th could even inform their families 
directly, their relatives back in West Virginia learned this 
disappointing news from the local papers.
  There is increasing unease about the cost of our financial 
commitments in Iraq, particularly at a time of growing domestic 
deficits, and our failure to line up significant international 
contributions.
  Americans are a patient people. Our 50-year commitments to Korea, 
Japan, and NATO attest to that. But the American people insist on 
information. Our international engagements have succeeded where past 
Presidents have laid out what our national mission is, how our vital 
interests are involved, what we anticipate the cost may be, and what 
our plans are for an exit strategy or to get other countries to share 
an equitable portion of the burden.
  When we don't have that, public support vanishes. There is a tendency 
among some in Washington to dismiss this as some sort of ``Somalia 
syndrome.'' But it is not just a passing phenomenon--it's a fundamental 
part of who we are as a people.
  It reflects that contrary to some of the characterizations out there, 
Americans are not naturally imperialists, and we are not warmongers. 
And while we believe other people should enjoy the freedoms we cherish, 
we are not seeking to remake the world in our image. We support our 
global commitments when we feel America's vital national interests are 
at stake, and that this is part of a clear and coherent strategy by our 
political leadership.
  When America went to war in March, it commanded the support of a 
significant majority of Americans. But the administration must realize: 
It is in danger of losing that support. One can see it in the polls; I 
definitely hear it when I return to West Virginia. And the change is 
most pronounced in many people who supported the war back in the 
spring. They are losing confidence that the administration has a 
strategy to get our young men and women out of Iraq, and to ensure 
their safety up until that point.
  And it is leading some people to clutch at optimistic, maybe even 
unrealistic ``quick fix'' solutions, like suggesting we dump the entire 
Iraq operation into the lap of the United Nations, when Kofi Annan has 
basically said the U.N. has no interest in taking up the U.S. role in 
Iraq.
  This worries me deeply. America's willingness to stay the course in 
Iraq isn't a partisan issue. It is, I believe, a vital national 
priority. America created the current situation in Iraq, and we must 
make it succeed. It is a fundamental test of American security and 
American credibility, and it is being watched closely by our foes and 
our friends alike.
  If America withdraws from Iraq before we are able to reconstitute a 
solid Iraqi government backed up by strong political institutions, we 
will leave behind a chaotic situation that will quickly become a 
textbook for other enemies who wonder how to defeat America when our 
combat forces are unstoppable.
  And if the reconstruction in Iraq does not lead to a stable state, it 
will become impossible to line up allies for future such operations. 
Even the handful of countries working with us to make Iraq succeed--the 
British, and the Spaniards and Italians, and the Poles--wills steer 
clear of us.
  It is not too late to turn this around. But is will require clear, 
consistent communication from the very top of this administration.
  In recent weeks, we have learned, in rather haphazard ways, from 
various administration officials, that we are facing a guerrilla war in 
Iraq that is targeting American troops with increasing precision, that 
the financial cost of our occupation is running at twice the level 
projected, that troop deployments in Iraq will likely be extended, and 
that some of the countries we were hoping would help share the burden 
in Iraq are getting cold feet. And frankly, getting complete 
information has been like pulling teeth, and only reinforces the 
growing perceptions that decision are being made in a reactive way. I'm 
sure there are some people who are telling the President, ``stay away 
from the bad news''--and that is why it is left to officials like Jerry 
Bremer or General Abizaid to do the honest talking.
  The American people need to hear, from the President, not just what a 
great job our troops did in the initial combat phase, but also why many 
of our predictions were wrong; what the administration plans to do 
about it, including getting more international support; and why it is 
important that we not let these setbacks deter us. Unless we hear some 
plain, honest talking from the President about how we are dealing with 
the post-combat challenges in Iraq, I am convinced there will be 
dramatic further erosion in support for staying the course in Iraq. And 
I think that is something none of my colleagues here in the Senate 
would feel good about.

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