[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 15652]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     PRIME MINISTER MALIKI'S VISIT

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, Iraq Prime Minister Maliki's visit to the 
United States comes at an important time. All Americans want Iraq's new 
government to succeed. The principal measure of success will be whether 
the tide of violence recedes and full-scale civil war is avoided. But 
for that to happen, the new government must deal quickly, decisively, 
and effectively with the principal threat to stability--the deadly 
influence of the militias--especially in Baghdad.
  It is time for the new government to move beyond vagaries and develop 
a viable strategy to deal with the militias and prevent Iraq from 
descending into full-scale civil war. He needs to begin implementing a 
credible plan to disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate the militias into 
the security forces. He must obtain a real commitment from the 
political parties to assist in disbanding and disarming the militias.
  As the new violence in Lebanon demonstrates, political parties cannot 
govern with one hand and terrorize civilians with militias with the 
other hand. It did not work with Hezbollah in Lebanon, it cannot work 
with Hamas, and it will not work in Iraq.
  Militias are the engines of civil war, and there is no role for them 
in a legitimately functioning government of Iraq. Iraq's future and the 
lives of our troops are close to the precipice of a new disaster. The 
timebomb of full-scale civil war is ticking, and our most urgent 
priority is to defuse it.
  America, too, must be honest about the situation in Iraq. President 
Bush, the Vice President, and Secretary Rumsfeld continue to deny that 
Iraq is in a civil war. But the increasing sectarian violence, the 
ruthless death squads, and the increasingly powerful role of the 
privately armed militias tell a very different story.
  We cannot ignore this major danger. President Bush needs to consider 
the cold, hard facts and prepare a strategy to protect our troops who 
are at risk of getting caught in the middle of an unwinnable sectarian 
civil war. Such planning is not an admission of defeat; it is 
responsible and necessary to protect the lives of our men and women in 
Iraq who are serving with great courage under enormously difficult 
circumstances.

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