Iraq

Floor Speech

IRAQ

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss Iraq, as I have every day this week that we have been here. First, I know we all have the deepest gratitude and respect for the sacrifice of the brave men and women serving our country so valiantly in Iraq. Make no mistake about it, the troops are doing their job. I am concerned, however, that their mission is not worthy of their great sacrifice, especially the President's surge.

The surge, despite earlier reports this week, has failed to meet the objectives set out by the President. And the President can't change that fact by changing the goal. He is now claiming progress in Iraq as evidence that the surge--directed at Baghdad--is working. While the President has claimed progress in Anbar, it was not the surge that brought the momentary calm to this region, because the surge was focused mainly on Baghdad, and the difficult process of political reconciliation. Its objective, as stated by the President himself, was to create breathing room for the central Iraqi Government to make political progress.

Our brave troops have been in Anbar for years and years, doing the first-rate job they always do in what is a very difficult environment. Now, however, some elements of the local population, and some of their leaders, have made common cause with the brave men and women of our military. They have cooperated with our troops out of distaste for the brutal methods of al-Qaida. While this is a welcome and helpful development, it is neither the foundation upon which a successful long-term strategy can be launched, nor is it a result of the surge, which was targeted mainly at Baghdad and the national Iraqi political process.

We have heard about successes in the past. They are temporary. They are not based on any permanent structural change or any permanent change in the views of the Iraqi citizens. The Shiites, the Sunnis, and the Kurds still despise each other. They dislike each other more than they like any central government. We have heard about success in the past in Baghdad, and we have heard about success in Fallujah, and they vanish like the wind because the fundamentals on the ground haven't changed.

Now, at a time when the American people are crying out for a change in course, some are pointing to a temporary situation in one province--Anbar--as a way to continue the present misguided policy. It makes no sense. It makes no sense because the fundamentals in Iraq stay the same. There is no central government that has any viability, and the warlords in Anbar Province have no relationship with the central government whatsoever. The Shiites, the Kurds, and the Sunnis, as I have stated, dislike each other far more than they like or want any central government, and these two facts doom the administration's policy to failure.

We should not have our brave soldiers fighting a civil war caught between rival political and religious factions. We desperately need a change in course, a change in course that recognizes the political situation on the ground, and I urge that this body move forward to do just that.

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