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Friday, Aug. 08, 2008

Chandler says "it's time' to withdraw from Iraq

After making his first whirlwind trip through Iraq over the weekend, Democratic U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler said the United States should begin to withdraw troops now and force the Iraqi government to stand on its own.

”As long as we continue to fund this thing and as long as we continue to provide security, there is less incentive for the Iraqi government to do the things they need to do to control the country,“ Chandler told the Herald-Leader. ”I think we need to leave them with as stable a situation as we can but we need to lift off from the country as soon as possible.

”I think it's time to start withdrawing,“ he added, although he acknowledged that any such shift in policy isn't likely to occur until the next president takes office in January.

He also said he's increasingly concerned with the mounting cost of U.S. occupation and reconstruction of Iraq, which works out to roughly $330 million per day.

”It's a shocking amount of money and at a time when we're concerned about our ability to compete in a global economy,“ he said.

Chandler, a member of the House appropriations committee's subcommittee for State Department and foreign operations funding, traveled to Ramadi and Baghdad on Saturday with four members of Arkansas' congressional delegation and Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Bishop of New York.

In addition to meeting with troops and surveying the region, the group met with Gen. David Petraeus and Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, who is commanding general of the multinational force in Iraq.

Chandler praised U.S. troops for being ”heroic“ in quelling sectarian violence that has flared up since U.S.-led forces invaded in 2003.

”It's unbelievable what they have had to deal with — wearing all this equipment in the heat and in dangerous circumstances where you don't know who is friend or foe,“ said Chandler, who was outfitted with a heavy flak jacket for protection in what he said was 120-degree heat during his trip.

Chandler said a surge of an additional 20,000 troops last year — which he spoke against on the House floor — clearly helped conditions.

”We've done a wonderful job really in bringing more security to the country,“ he said. ”You cannot dispute the fact that it is connected with putting more troops there.“

But he said U.S. efforts might have reached the ”point of diminishing returns.“

”We've given them breathing room to stabilize their situation, and I'm not sure for the money we're spending that we can accomplish a great deal more than that,“ he said. ”Essentially we're borrowing from the Chinese in order to pay for a war that, if you look at the final outcome, it's really questionable whether we gain a thing from it.“

Chandler's comments come as other U.S. politicians have criticized Iraq's government for sitting on a $79 billion surplus of oil revenue.

So far, the United States has spent roughly $650 billion on the war since 2003.

While Iraq has receded from the forefront of voters' minds in recent months, it remains a hot-button topic in the presidential race between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, as well as in Congress.

Obama has pledged to try to end U.S. occupation, but earlier this summer he backed away from any hard-and-fast time line for withdrawal.

McCain initially said it would be irresponsible to pull out too soon, but recently he has embraced suggestions for a 16-month timetable.

Republican U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers of Somerset, who sits with Chandler on the House appropriations committee, said he, too, has been concerned about the Iraqi government's ”progression towards political stability, financial accountability, and meeting the training milestones for their own military.“

But he said removing U.S. forces too soon could cause disarray that would encourage violence and terrorism.

”I believe artificial timetables and unrealistic goals supported by some in Congress are a recipe for disaster in achieving a free and peaceful Iraq,“ Rogers said.

Rogers, who hasn't traveled to Iraq, said he's awaiting Petraeus' latest round of recommendations to Congress and President Bush in September.

Jon Larson, Chandler's Republican opponent in the Nov. 4 election, said the United States must be more patient with an Iraqi government that's still ”finding its way.“

”I believe we are going to need a continued presence in Iraq for a considerable amount of time,“ he said. ”It sounds like it's an extremely risky measure that Congressman Chandler is suggesting.“

But Chandler, who didn't meet with Iraqi officials, said the government has proven ”some ability“ by taking over Basra in the southern part of the nation that was a hotbed of Shiite militia attacks as recently as this spring.

Chandler also has long warned of the threat that Iran poses both to Iraq and the region. And he said that danger exists whether U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq or not.

”That goes back to the flaw in the whole idea to under­take this effort in the first place,“ he said. ”What you're trying to do is deal with a situation that's almost intractable.“