Washington Times - Arbitrary Politics

Op-Ed

Washington Times - Arbitrary Politics

By: John Cornyn

For months, we have been waiting for progress, negotiations and political reconciliation and bringing the parties together and ending the divisiveness that has virtually halted accomplishing anything in the government.

It may sound like I'm talking about Iraq, but I'm referring to the U.S. Congress. Ironically, the same people who failed to deliver on their promises of reconciliation —the same people who have only finished one of 12 appropriations bills — have the effrontery to criticize the Iraqi government's lack of results.

Critics are changing their tune, however, following clear evidence that the surge is working. Rep. John Murtha, Pennsylvania Democrat, one of the loudest voices decrying the strategy and calling for a U.S. withdrawal, recently returned from Iraq and said, "the surge is working." It is encouraging to see more members of the majority party acknowledging our real military progress. More should follow suit.

Many Iraq critics have said they like Gen. David Petraeus, but that his surge strategy would not work. Then they said they don't believe him, and that the surge is not working. Now, in the face of undeniable military progress, their message has shifted to lack of political reconciliation.

But a congressman who accompanied Mr. Murtha, Rep. Norm Dicks, Washington Democrat, said: "I felt kinda embarrassed telling the Iraqis they had to get their act together and pass legislation when we can't do it back here."

We need to allow the Iraqi people time to establish their government and work out legitimate differences. I am a firm believer in accountability, but our own members of Congress are trying to hold others to a standard they have proven unable to meet themselves. Here at home, in our fully functioning democracy, the Democratic leadership in Congress has failed to meet the benchmarks they set in the run-up to last November's election.

Our own country's history has notable parallels to the situation in Iraq. After we declared independence from Great Britain, it took 11 years to implement the U.S. Constitution. Then, following the Civil War, we underwent the process of national reconciliation. That took us more than a decade. Building a democracy is not an overnight task, particularly in an area fraught with danger, including suicide bombings, sectarian murders and political assassinations.

Through the surge — an innovative counterinsurgency strategy developed by Gen. Petraeus — American troops have achieved results widely considered unattainable in early 2007. Our troops have made Iraq a safer place and brought new hope to its people. They have accomplished this in the face of intense congressional opposition.

Never bet against the men and women of the American armed forces. This is a lesson al Qaeda and other enemies of freedom in Iraq have learned the hard way recently. U.S. troops have turned the corner in Iraq and continue to build momentum.

But if the majority party does not fully fund and support their mission, these security gains will deteriorate and the tireless efforts of our troops will have been wasted.

The latest effort to hamper the mission in Iraq is the majority party's refusal to pass a clean funding bill for ongoing military operations overseas. They insist on attaching immediate withdrawal conditions.

Congress has a moral obligation not to leave our troops in a combat zone without the tools to do their job.

There are numerous signs of increased stability throughout Iraq, creating the necessary conditions for a partial drawdown of forces. By next summer, the U.S. plans to reduce troop levels by some 30,000 soldiers. The 1st Cavalry Division's "Grey Wolf" Brigade is already bringing its troops back home to Fort Hood, Texas. This is based not on a congressionally mandated timetable, but on objective determinations by our military commanders.

Abandoning the Iraqi people now, through a forced early withdrawal of American troops, would likely result in renewed sectarian violence, further dividing their nation and making reconciliation nearly impossible in the short-term. It would also make Americans less safe. Congress must not let the progress achieved thus far slip away by refusing to fund our troops in harm's way and imposing arbitrary timelines for withdrawal.

Many in Congress are fixated on immediate withdrawal from Iraq for political expediency and continue to move the goalposts on our troops and the Iraqi people. Doing so is unwise and insulting to our men and women in uniform making great sacrifices to stabilize Iraq.

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