Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Wall Street Journal
April 12, 2007
Pg. 15
By Gary Kurpius and Paul Morin
Everyone wants the war to end, but how it ends is important. So, with all due respect to the narrow majority in the new Congress who voted to withdraw the bulk of our 140,000 troops from Iraq next year, you are wrong.
As our elected representatives, you were wrong to force a showdown with a president who vowed to veto any measure that would force a troop withdrawal. And you were wrong to add almost $20 billion -- for programs unrelated to the war -- on top of the $103 billion requested by the Defense Department, just because previous Congresses had done likewise with emergency war spending bills.
No one disputes that mistakes have occurred in the prosecution of the war, from the deployment of too few troops at the onset to the underestimates of sectarian hatred and the cold-hearted violence it produced. But unrealistic restrictions and troop withdrawal timelines will tie the hands of our battlefield commanders to maneuver their forces, and that will break the morale of our troops in the field. Those of us who have been there and done that know that morale means everything in a war zone.
Our troops operate in a world of ideals known as service, commitment and sacrifice. They don't do politics, but they do know when they are being abandoned, such as when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said he would introduce legislation to provide funding for certain aspects of the war, but not for combat operations.
Not funding direct combat operations is the same as having your hands tied in a knife fight. And while some may regard the rhetoric as normal political-speak, our troops are taking it personally, because they know that not being allowed to take the fight directly to the enemy is exactly what happened in Korea and Vietnam. They don't want to repeat history.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that one of the most difficult challenges in Iraq is the creation of a type of government that they have never had in their 5,000-year history, a government that serves the people instead of one that just takes from them. Granted, there are significant challenges for them to overcome as well as opportunities for the Iraqi people to get it right the first time. But their country can't be bullied into forming a democracy by an American Congress, and American troops can't speed up a process that has taken our own country 231 years to nurture.
As Baghdad goes, so goes Iraq, and our new commander on the ground, Gen. David Petraeus, has already said that the ongoing plus-up of troops is making a significant difference, even though only three of the five combat brigades have arrived for the "surge."
There are finally signs of hope and progress in Iraq, and it's all because of new leadership with a new plan of action. But it's a plan that is totally dependent on a funding package for the proper training, equipping and fielding of our forces. With it, the surge has a chance of succeeding; without it, the surge is doomed to failure, and it will be the common soldier and his or her family who will pay the price.
As the national commanders of the two largest veterans' service organizations, we have faith that the ongoing surge will be the final key the Iraqis need to secure and stabilize their own country. We also have faith that this war, too, shall end, but hopefully not in the manner that some in Congress would suggest.
This is not a Democrat or Republican issue. This issue is about American men and women who we sent to war and who now some want to pull back before they finish their job. The time to debate the war is not in the funding bill that keeps our troops alive. If they need funds, it is the responsibility of Congress to provide them the money so that they can accomplish their mission.
The sooner their job is done, the sooner they come home. That's how you "support the troops."
Mr. Kurpius is the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Mr. Morin is the national commander of The American Legion. Together the VFW and Legion have 4.5 million members.
April 12, 2007
Pg. 15
By Gary Kurpius and Paul Morin
Everyone wants the war to end, but how it ends is important. So, with all due respect to the narrow majority in the new Congress who voted to withdraw the bulk of our 140,000 troops from Iraq next year, you are wrong.
As our elected representatives, you were wrong to force a showdown with a president who vowed to veto any measure that would force a troop withdrawal. And you were wrong to add almost $20 billion -- for programs unrelated to the war -- on top of the $103 billion requested by the Defense Department, just because previous Congresses had done likewise with emergency war spending bills.
No one disputes that mistakes have occurred in the prosecution of the war, from the deployment of too few troops at the onset to the underestimates of sectarian hatred and the cold-hearted violence it produced. But unrealistic restrictions and troop withdrawal timelines will tie the hands of our battlefield commanders to maneuver their forces, and that will break the morale of our troops in the field. Those of us who have been there and done that know that morale means everything in a war zone.
Our troops operate in a world of ideals known as service, commitment and sacrifice. They don't do politics, but they do know when they are being abandoned, such as when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said he would introduce legislation to provide funding for certain aspects of the war, but not for combat operations.
Not funding direct combat operations is the same as having your hands tied in a knife fight. And while some may regard the rhetoric as normal political-speak, our troops are taking it personally, because they know that not being allowed to take the fight directly to the enemy is exactly what happened in Korea and Vietnam. They don't want to repeat history.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that one of the most difficult challenges in Iraq is the creation of a type of government that they have never had in their 5,000-year history, a government that serves the people instead of one that just takes from them. Granted, there are significant challenges for them to overcome as well as opportunities for the Iraqi people to get it right the first time. But their country can't be bullied into forming a democracy by an American Congress, and American troops can't speed up a process that has taken our own country 231 years to nurture.
As Baghdad goes, so goes Iraq, and our new commander on the ground, Gen. David Petraeus, has already said that the ongoing plus-up of troops is making a significant difference, even though only three of the five combat brigades have arrived for the "surge."
There are finally signs of hope and progress in Iraq, and it's all because of new leadership with a new plan of action. But it's a plan that is totally dependent on a funding package for the proper training, equipping and fielding of our forces. With it, the surge has a chance of succeeding; without it, the surge is doomed to failure, and it will be the common soldier and his or her family who will pay the price.
As the national commanders of the two largest veterans' service organizations, we have faith that the ongoing surge will be the final key the Iraqis need to secure and stabilize their own country. We also have faith that this war, too, shall end, but hopefully not in the manner that some in Congress would suggest.
This is not a Democrat or Republican issue. This issue is about American men and women who we sent to war and who now some want to pull back before they finish their job. The time to debate the war is not in the funding bill that keeps our troops alive. If they need funds, it is the responsibility of Congress to provide them the money so that they can accomplish their mission.
The sooner their job is done, the sooner they come home. That's how you "support the troops."
Mr. Kurpius is the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Mr. Morin is the national commander of The American Legion. Together the VFW and Legion have 4.5 million members.