Senator Ayotte's Statement on President's Decision to Withdraw All Troops from Iraq

Statement

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), a member of the Senate Armed Services committee, released the following statement today regarding President Obama's announcement that all US troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of the year:

"We've seen a pattern of this administration ignoring the advice of our military commanders. We saw it in Afghanistan with the withdrawal of the remainder of the surge troops in the middle of the fighting season and now we're seeing it in Iraq. I have serious concerns that this was a political decision that essentially ignored the advice of military commanders on the ground and the concerns I've heard from top Pentagon officials. We all want our troops to come home as soon as possible, but we can't allow that worthy goal to risk the security gains we've made. Secretary Panetta and Admiral Mullen have testified that gaps remain in Iraqis' ability to secure their country. Unfortunately, Iran, which has undermined Iraqi security and wants us to leave so they can assert control, must be cheering over this decision. And dangerous Kurdish-Arab tensions persist in the northern part of the country.

"A stable Iraq that is an American ally remains absolutely critical to our national security interests, and a rush to the exits in Iraq threatens the progress that has been made at such tremendous cost. I have significant doubts that civilians in the State Department are going to be able to fill the gap left by the military's departure. We should not be building a civilian army with our State Department, and the 14,000 contractors that State will oversee represent just that."

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