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It is often helpful to look back from time to time and view the opinions and positions as well as public statements of our elected officials. We offer a copy of a press release from about a year and a half ago. This is from Senator Chuck Schumer and includes a letter to President Bush regarding the Iraq war. Although Senator Schumer’s understanding of war hasn’t seemed to improve since then, the passages highlighted in red are certainly interesting and a contrast to Democratic leadership in 2007.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 11, 2005

Schumer Urges Bush To Appoint Distinguished Delegation Of Former Military Leaders To Examine Iraqi Troop Training/Deployment And Report To Public

Today Sen. Chuck Schumer will send a letter to President Bush urging him to immediately appoint a distinguished delegation of retired military leaders to go to Iraq, examine the failures in troop training and deployment, and make a public report to the Congress and American people quickly. Schumer suggested that former military leaders like General Tommy Franks, General Norman Schwarzkopf, and Secretary Colin Powell should go to Iraq to make a first hand assessment about why the President’s troop training plan is not going well. From all reports there is only one single battalion out of 97 that are ready to fight on its own in Iraq - that is only 750 troops.

Schumer said, “The lynchpin in the President’s plan for victory is training enough Iraqi troops so that they can stand up and the U.S. forces can finally stand down – so it is critical to know what is going wrong. A distinguished delegation of former military leaders like General Tommy Franks, General Norman Schwarzkopf, and Secretary Colin Powell should be sent by the President to report back to the American public as soon as possible so we can fix these serious problems.”

Schumer’s letter to the President follows:

December 11, 2005

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Bush:

As you know, the training and deployment of Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) capable of defending Iraq from outside influences and policing against domestic insurgents is a key objective of our ongoing efforts in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and one that must be completed before we can end our military presence. Like you, I recognize that America must succeed in Iraq and in order to accomplish that goal I steadfastly support the establishment of a competent and capable ISF.

I am troubled by recent reports that the establishment of such forces is not moving forward as well as was hoped, and by the continuing inability to obtain a definitive assessment of the current status and abilities of the ISF. These matters lie at the very heart of the length and success of American military involvement in Iraq, and it is important for the American people to fully understand how much progress we have made in helping to establish the ISF.

I am deeply concerned that the lack of this information will make it increasingly difficult to chart a proper course in Iraq and may ultimately serve to undermine our chances of success. In order to give America the best chance for lasting victory in Iraq, I urge you to appoint a senior delegation of distinguished retired military leaders to travel to Iraq, assess the situation for themselves, and issue a public report of their findings.

As you have often said yourself, “As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.” Unfortunately, information available on the training and readiness of the ISF makes it difficult to predict when this will occur. For instance, in October it was revealed that out of over ninety ISF battalions, the number of fully independent, or “Category One” ISF battalions was revised down from three to one. The fact that two battalions were apparently downgraded would appear to be a significant step backward. In order to prevent any further regressions, it is important to have full and clear accounting of the situation on the ground and an explanation as to how this occurred.

There are also important and unanswered questions as to the actual size and cohesiveness of the ISF. As of mid-November the Department of Defense indicated that there were 211,700 members of the ISF, only about 65% of the number hoped to be reached by August of 2007. If we are to be successful in Iraq, we must clearly understand whether it is possible to complete training those already enlisted, as well as recruit and train the remaining personnel before the deadline.

Similarly, information from the GAO would indicate that there is a significant chance that possibly tens of thousands of those in the police component of the ISF may have deserted. Concerns also abound that the ISF is still 18-24 months away from operational independence and lack a sufficient command structure, and are a target for insurgent infiltration. Obviously, we need to get to the bottom of whether or not the ranks of the ISF are stable and cohesive before we can certify that they have been fully trained and are ready to assume independent responsibility for Iraq’s security.

I agree with you that the stakes in Iraq and that the United States must succeed in its work there. By providing an unvarnished analysis of ISF numbers, capability, and cohesion the delegation I am asking you to appoint could provide the American people with an honest assessment of our progress, inform the Administration and Congress of the best path to take forward, and allow us to move toward the shared goal of bringing our troops home and out of harms way. I urge you to appoint this delegation as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer
United States Senate

This entry was posted on Monday, April 30th, 2007 at 2:15 am and is filed under Terrorism, Iraq, war, wordpress, syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea, Iran, Military, Sen Chuck Schumer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.