Lowell Sun - Moulton: U.S. Needs Longterm Political Plan in Iraq, Syria

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By Chelsea Feinstein

Seven years after Seth Moulton left Iraq as a decorated war veteran, he returned as a U.S. congressman.

"I have a great appreciation for Iraq, having spent three years of my life there," Moulton said Tuesday after returning from a weeklong fact-finding mission in the Middle East with three other congressmen. "There was a sense in which it was good to be back in familiar territory, but it was incredibly frustrating to see so many of our hard-fought gains gone to waste."

Moulton, a Salem Democrat, traveled to Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, leaving on Feb. 13 and returning Feb. 20. He met with leaders including Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Iraqi President Fuad Masum and King Abdullah II of Jordan.

Reps. Brad Ashford, D-Nebraska, Elise Stefanik, R-New York and Joe Wilson, R-South Carolina, also were on the trip. All four are members of the House Armed Services Committee.

As Congress takes up debate this week on President Barack Obama's request for authorization of military force against ISIL in Iraq and Syria, Moulton's experiences abroad become even more important.

In order to support Obama's proposal, Moulton said he'd need to see a plan in place for how to achieve a long-term political solution in Iraq.

"I think the current debate about how narrow or wide the authorization for the use of military force should be really misses the point," Moulton said.

"We need to have a long-term political strategy supported by a military effort, and that should guide what kind of authorization we need. We shouldn't be trying to construct an authorization to dictate a strategy."
The goal of his fact-finding mission, he said, was to assess how things are going in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, with a particular focus on the fight against ISIL. The answer to that question, he said, was very different between Afghanistan and Iraq.

"I think things in Afghanistan are going quite well. Both in Afghanistan and America they would like a little more flexibility in the withdrawal timeline to ensure success, and I think we should give them that flexibility," Moulton said.

That timeline, introduced by Obama in 2014, calls for the last American troops to be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2016.

"We're on a path to success and there's a clear strategic plan based on inserting a successful Afghani government. The military effort supports that effort, not the other way around."

In Iraq, where Moulton served four tours and earned a Bronze Star, less progress is evident.

"In contrast, I don't see a strong political plan in Iraq. This is really a political crisis that has led to a rise of ISIL, and there's got to be a political situation, a military solution is not enough," he said. "We have to make sure in Iraq that if we have some military action supporting the Iraqis that it's not in vain because there's no longer term political strategy. We're looking at going back into Iraq, and none of us want to do that."

Instead of bringing in military advisers, he said, the U.S. should be providing political advisers in Iraq.

"We've sent hundreds of military advisers to Baghdad, but the fundamental problem is political. We need to send political advisers to Iraq," Moulton said.

On his trip, Moulton said he saw an interest for a united regional effort against ISIL. When he asked Ghani what role the U.S. should have in that coalition, he said that Ghani said the U.S. should lead.

"Whether we like it or not, we have a leadership role in the Middle East, and this coalition, if it's done right, will eventually be led by others, but we can help bring it together," Moulton said.

Moulton's call to action comes early in his congressional career. He began his first term in January after taking down nine-term Democratic Rep. John Tierney and Republican challenger Richard Tisei to earn his first political office.

But he's used to taking the lead, and said the perspective he brings on veterans issues is part of why he wanted to serve in Congress.

"I think it's important for veterans to have a voice in this debate," he said. "We've never had fewer veterans in Congress in our nation's history, and as we're debating sending troops back into Iraq we need to hear from veterans of the Iraq War."

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