GENERAL PETRAEUS AND SENATOR GRAHAM DISCUSS THE NEW WAY FORWARD IN IRAQ
GENERAL PETRAEUS AND SENATOR GRAHAM DISCUSS THE NEW WAY FORWARD IN IRAQ
TESTIMONY BEFORE THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE, 1/23/07
Iraq And The Global War On Terror: “There are elements of the greater al Qaeda network of international extremists that want something very different than the Iraq that most Iraqis want.”
SEN. GRAHAM: Do you believe that Iraq is — affects the overall war on terror or not?
GEN. PETRAEUS: I do, sir. Clearly there are elements of the greater al Qaeda network of international extremists that want something very different than the Iraq that most Iraqis want, and want something very different in that region and in the world than most of the world wants.
SEN. GRAHAM: Who bombed the Golden Mosque?
GEN. PETRAEUS: Sir, I believe that it was from this extremist group. It may, again, have been insurgent elements, but certainly those who obviously did not want the new Iraq to succeed and wanted to ignite sectarian violence. And if I could add, I think that there is some of that going on right now. I think they see the increases in forces. I think they see perhaps the Iraqi government showing some toughness, and I think that they want to derail that before it gets any momentum.
SEN. GRAHAM: That was part of Zarqawi’s hope, before he was killed, to create a sectarian war. Is that correct?
GEN. PETRAEUS: Sir, that is correct.
Consequences Of Leaving Prematurely: “Name some winners of a failed state in Iraq.”
SEN. GRAHAM: Who’s the biggest winner — name some winners of a failed state in Iraq.
GEN. PETRAEUS: Well, certainly al Qaeda, the greater al Qaeda network, those who want states that embrace extremist ideologies; those states who wish the United States and perhaps the Western world ill.
SEN. GRAHAM: Would Iran be a big winner if you had a failed state in Iraq?
GEN. PETRAEUS: Sir, it certainly could. There are some who say that Iran would — you know, I think perhaps they’re torn, actually, because it could actually cause some real consequences for their own population.
SEN. GRAHAM: Does Iran want a democracy in Iraq?
GEN. PETRAEUS: They — I do not believe they do. And certainly, if I could add to the previous one, I don’t mean to imply that Iran has not been meddling in Iraq nor that it has not been providing training, sophisticated improvised explosives and other devices that have created casualties and huge problems in Iraq.
SEN. GRAHAM: I’m going to make a statement. See if you agree with it. One of the biggest nightmares of the dictatorship in Syria and the theocracy in Iraq (sic\Iran) is to have a functioning democracy — excuse me, in Iran, is to have a functioning democracy in Iraq; it threatens their regimes.
GEN. PETRAEUS: I think that’s true, sir. It would obviously depend on what that looked like.
SEN. GRAHAM: Do you believe it’s remotely possible to have a democracy with this level of violence in Iraq?
GEN. PETRAEUS: I think it is very, very challenging, sir.
Congress And The New Way Forward: “No matter how well-intentioned a resolution, being opposed to this new strategy is a vote of no confidence… no matter how well-intentioned, the enemy will see it as a weakened resolve.”
SEN. GRAHAM: Okay. Now, when it comes to trying to evaluate what to do and why we’re doing whatever course we chart, I just want to associate myself with Senator Lieberman. No matter how well-intentioned a resolution, being opposed to this new strategy is a vote of no confidence; and you — no matter how well-intentioned, the enemy will see it as a weakened resolve; no matter how well-intentioned, those people going to fight this war are going to say, well, I’m going, but the Congress says good luck, but you’re going to lose. Now, I just hope we understand that, that I think it is the global part — global struggle. And if you think it’s Vietnam, if you really believe we’re in Vietnam, you should cut off funding. Not one other person should die in this cause. Not one American should lose a limb, no one should get hurt, we should come home tomorrow. General, is this Vietnam?
GEN. PETRAEUS: Sir, I — Vietnam was Vietnam. As a student in lessons of history and someone who did a dissertation that focused on those, every case is unique. And Iraq is Iraq. It has all of — lots of problems. There’s a few of them that are certainly related to — or similar to those in Vietnam; there’s a lot that are very, very different. I truly think that we have to be sensitive to the uniqueness of each situation.
Securing Baghdad: “If you leave, there will be a bloodbath in Baghdad.”
SEN. GRAHAM: Some resolutions say that we go to Anbar but we leave Baghdad alone, that we don’t put any troops into Baghdad. On my last trip to Iraq, we met with a citizens group made up of Sunnis, Shi’as, I think a Kurdish person was there, I can’t remember, but they were all Baghdad residents. The one thing they told every member of our delegation is: If you leave, there will be a bloodbath in Baghdad. Do you agree with that?
GEN. PETRAEUS: I do, sir.
SEN. GRAHAM: So, if there’s a bloodbath in Baghdad, are we going to sit on the sidelines and watch it happen? Is that in our national interest?
GEN. PETRAEUS: Sir, that is not our strategy at this time.
SEN. GRAHAM: Can you have a functioning democracy where the capital itself is not secure?
GEN. PETRAEUS: No, sir.
The Build Phase: “So if you could improve the economy and have jobs available to people other than being in the IED business, hopefully that over time would help.”
SEN. GRAHAM: IEDs — that’s the biggest threat to our troops. Seventy percent of the casualties are IEDs. Is that correct?
GEN. PETRAEUS: I believe that’s correct, yes, sir.
SEN. GRAHAM: Let me, if I can, very quickly explain how this new surge may affect that. One group of people involved in the IEDs are people without a job, and they do it for the money. Is that correct?
GEN. PETRAEUS: That is correct, sir.
SEN. GRAHAM: So if you could improve the economy and have jobs available to people other than being in the IED business, hopefully that over time would help. That’s part of the surge, right, create a better economy?
GEN. PETRAEUS: That’s correct, and it also could reduce the militias.
SEN. GRAHAM: Secondly, there’s another component to this. If the person down the street was caught — who was caught putting an IED in the ground to kill Iraqi troops and American troops, if they went to jail for 30 years or got executed, that might help deter IEDs. Is that correct?
GEN. PETRAEUS: Correct.
SEN. GRAHAM: That’s part of the surge. Would you consider suggesting to your Iraqi counterparts to create a military tribunal to handle these type of crimes?
GEN. PETRAEUS: I would, sir.
SEN. GRAHAM: And finally, an increase double capacity, a military surge of doubling the combat capability to hold areas cleared would — the hope would be to put pressure on the IED-makers militarily, economically and under the rule of law to go after them so you’re not driving around waiting to get blown up. When we go, are the gloves off? Are we going to go wherever we need to go and get whoever we need to get to fight and win this war?
GEN. PETRAEUS: Absolutely, sir.
