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Kerrey says U.S. mustn't look weak in Iraq
Kerrey says U.S. mustn't look weak in Iraq
BY JAKE THOMPSON
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
Withdrawing troops too soon would hand terrorists a victory, says Nebraska's former Sen. Bob Kerrey.Such a retreat, Kerrey says, would hand radical Islamic terrorists a substantial victory and enable them to destroy the fledgling democracy in Iraq.
In an article published Tuesday and in an interview, Kerrey said terrorists would gain safe haven from which to launch further attacks on American citizens like those of Sept. 11, 2001.
Kerrey said that if the United States shows weakness in Iraq, it will "pay a terrible price."
"The forces of al-Qaida have demonstrated a tremendous capacity, and they'll use that capacity if we withdraw from the playing field," said Kerrey, a former two-term U.S. senator.
In the interview, Kerrey also had a message for fellow Democrats: "Just because George Bush said it doesn't mean it's wrong."
He also disputed those who say democracy cannot be imposed by force. He said the United States did so with success in Japan, Germany and Bosnia.
Kerrey's points on Iraq echo arguments made by President Bush for continuing the U.S. military presence there. They are close to the views of another solitary lawmaker, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, who calls himself an independent Democrat and has vigorously backed the Bush administration's Iraq strategy.
Kerrey was the author of a 1998 congressional act calling for the liberation of Iraq and was a member of the bipartisam commission that investigated the 9/11 attacks.
In the article for the Wall Street Journal, Kerrey said American liberals need to face what he calls truths. The demand for self-government remains strong in Iraq, despite U.S. mistakes and the violence fostered by Sunni insurgents, Shiite militias and al-Qaida to disrupt it.
Kerrey said al-Qaida has abducted and murdered those essential to democracy: teachers, aid workers, private contractors, police officers and those who cooperate with the Iraqi government.
"With these facts on the scales, what does your conscience tell you to do?" Kerrey wrote. "If the answer is nothing, that it is not our responsibility or that this is all about oil, then no wonder today we Democrats are not trusted with the reins of power."
Concessions won't work with al-Qaida or other foreign fighters causing havoc in Iraq, he said.
"The key question for Congress is whether or not Iraq has become the primary battleground against the same radical Islamists who declared war on the U.S. in the 1990s, and who have carried out a series of terrorist operations including 9/11. The answer is emphatically, 'Yes.'"
Kerrey, who has flirted with running for the Senate again if Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., retires, said U.S. troops could be reduced - over time - in Iraq.
But he called on Bush and the Democratic Congress to declare a bipartisan commitment to use the military to root out any terrorist sanctuary in the world.
Kerrey, a Vietnam War veteran, said that would send a signal to the world that the U.S. government is united and committed to continuing the larger war against terrorism.
Kerrey was the author of the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act, which was approved by Congress and called for supporting groups in Iraq to overthrow Saddam.
If those groups had driven Saddam from power, he said, the violence between the Sunnis, Shiites and those tied to al-Qaida still might have erupted in Iraq.
"The very people who want us out (of Iraq) now would want us in," he said.
Many Democrats in recent weeks have taken to the House and Senate floors decrying the 2003 invasion and calling for swift withdrawal of U.S. troops. They argue that the U.S. presence is worsening the strife between religious and ethnic groups within Iraq.
Now president of the New School University in New York City, Kerrey said that knowing what we know now - that Saddam did not have chemical, biological or nuclear weapons - the United States could have waited longer before invading Iraq.
But that war, he said, is over.
Now the war to stabilize Iraq must continue. And the United States should send a strong signal to the Iraqi people.
"We're not going to abandon them. There may be limits to what we're willing to do. But we are their ally," Kerrey said.
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BY JAKE THOMPSON
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
Withdrawing troops too soon would hand terrorists a victory, says Nebraska's former Sen. Bob Kerrey.Such a retreat, Kerrey says, would hand radical Islamic terrorists a substantial victory and enable them to destroy the fledgling democracy in Iraq.
In an article published Tuesday and in an interview, Kerrey said terrorists would gain safe haven from which to launch further attacks on American citizens like those of Sept. 11, 2001.
Kerrey said that if the United States shows weakness in Iraq, it will "pay a terrible price."
"The forces of al-Qaida have demonstrated a tremendous capacity, and they'll use that capacity if we withdraw from the playing field," said Kerrey, a former two-term U.S. senator.
In the interview, Kerrey also had a message for fellow Democrats: "Just because George Bush said it doesn't mean it's wrong."
He also disputed those who say democracy cannot be imposed by force. He said the United States did so with success in Japan, Germany and Bosnia.
Kerrey's points on Iraq echo arguments made by President Bush for continuing the U.S. military presence there. They are close to the views of another solitary lawmaker, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, who calls himself an independent Democrat and has vigorously backed the Bush administration's Iraq strategy.
Kerrey was the author of a 1998 congressional act calling for the liberation of Iraq and was a member of the bipartisam commission that investigated the 9/11 attacks.
In the article for the Wall Street Journal, Kerrey said American liberals need to face what he calls truths. The demand for self-government remains strong in Iraq, despite U.S. mistakes and the violence fostered by Sunni insurgents, Shiite militias and al-Qaida to disrupt it.
Kerrey said al-Qaida has abducted and murdered those essential to democracy: teachers, aid workers, private contractors, police officers and those who cooperate with the Iraqi government.
"With these facts on the scales, what does your conscience tell you to do?" Kerrey wrote. "If the answer is nothing, that it is not our responsibility or that this is all about oil, then no wonder today we Democrats are not trusted with the reins of power."
Concessions won't work with al-Qaida or other foreign fighters causing havoc in Iraq, he said.
"The key question for Congress is whether or not Iraq has become the primary battleground against the same radical Islamists who declared war on the U.S. in the 1990s, and who have carried out a series of terrorist operations including 9/11. The answer is emphatically, 'Yes.'"
Kerrey, who has flirted with running for the Senate again if Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., retires, said U.S. troops could be reduced - over time - in Iraq.
But he called on Bush and the Democratic Congress to declare a bipartisan commitment to use the military to root out any terrorist sanctuary in the world.
Kerrey, a Vietnam War veteran, said that would send a signal to the world that the U.S. government is united and committed to continuing the larger war against terrorism.
Kerrey was the author of the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act, which was approved by Congress and called for supporting groups in Iraq to overthrow Saddam.
If those groups had driven Saddam from power, he said, the violence between the Sunnis, Shiites and those tied to al-Qaida still might have erupted in Iraq.
"The very people who want us out (of Iraq) now would want us in," he said.
Many Democrats in recent weeks have taken to the House and Senate floors decrying the 2003 invasion and calling for swift withdrawal of U.S. troops. They argue that the U.S. presence is worsening the strife between religious and ethnic groups within Iraq.
Now president of the New School University in New York City, Kerrey said that knowing what we know now - that Saddam did not have chemical, biological or nuclear weapons - the United States could have waited longer before invading Iraq.
But that war, he said, is over.
Now the war to stabilize Iraq must continue. And the United States should send a strong signal to the Iraqi people.
"We're not going to abandon them. There may be limits to what we're willing to do. But we are their ally," Kerrey said.
Link
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