Senator Cantwell Responds

Yesterday, July 27th, I posted on the latest poll numbers on Iraq and closed by asking Senator Maria Cantwell and Rep. Rick Larsen,"...to explain to the voters in the 2nd CD of Washington State what they see as a “successful conclusion” in Iraq and how will we know when we have achieved it. Considering the fact that both Rick and Maria insist we can’t bring our troops home until the “mission is accomplished”, maybe they can also suggest a better way of communicating to the voters with whom they seem so out of step."


Today, I received the following reply from Senator Cantwell:

Dear Mr. Shue,

Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about U.S. foreign policy in Iraq . I appreciate hearing from you on this important matter.

On June 22, 2006, I joined 38 democratic senators in supporting Senators Carl Levin and Jack Reed's amendment to the Defense Authorization bill to encourage the Iraqi people to take complete control of their own future. The amendment recognizes the increasing number of Iraqi troops being trained and calls on those troops to take the lead in assuming full control of their own security so U.S. forces can be redeployed beginning this year.

We must act with urgency to get the Iraqi people on their feet and get our troops home. It must be a year of significant transition for Iraq , which means the Iraqi government must assume primary responsibility for governing and security. The U.S. cannot allow the political process in Iraq to drift, because a functioning inclusive government is a perquisite to any progress in Iraq . We must make it clear that the United States is not going to stay in Iraq indefinitely.

The Levin-Reed amendment also asserts that the president should convene an international conference on Iraqi stability and reconstruction and adds to my own requests for both the Iraqis and the international community to step up. I have called on President Bush to name a special envoy to Iraq to promote regional diplomacy. In addition, I have requested that the president convene a summit with our allies, Iraq 's neighbors, the Arab League, and the United Nations to ensure regional peace and greater strength through common purpose. Other countries have pledged over $13.5 billion for the reconstruction, but have disbursed only about $3 billion at this time. The United States must make sure that the international community follows through on its promises to help Iraq .

Rebuilding and protecting critical infrastructure is also essential to establishing the legitimacy of the new Iraqi government. Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds alike, must have faith in their government's ability to provide basic services to all regions. Past reconstruction efforts have been beset by mismanagement, fraud, contracting abuses, and insurgent attacks. We must move to address problems identified by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

The Iraqis must develop security forces loyal to the national government and disband sectarian militias. The United States should press the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and our European allies to assist the new Iraqi government by becoming more involved in training both within and outside Iraq . At present, only 96,000 Iraqi troops and police are fully independent and in a lead role, even though approximately 250,000 are considered trained and equipped. The Iraqis must assume full control of their own security.

Please be assured that I will continue to press for progress in Iraq , so we can bring our troops home.

Thank you again for contacting me to share your thoughts on this matter. For more information about my work in the Senate and issues of importance to Washington state, feel free to visit my website at http://cantwell.senate.gov . Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance.


Sincerely,
Maria Cantwell
United States Senator

For future correspondence with my office, please visit my website at
http://cantwell.senate.gov/contact/index.html
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Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue