[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 23607-23608]
[From the U.S. 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 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

[[Page 23608]]

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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