WASHINGTON, D.C. – Late Wednesday night, U.S. Rep. John E. Peterson, R-Pleasantville, voted against the micromanagement of Operation Iraqi Freedom by casting a no vote on the Democrats’ Iraq supplemental spending bill conference report.
“This conference report is a slap in the face to our brave men and women in uniform. Not only does it tie the hands of our commanders in theatre, but it dangerously threatens declaration of withdrawal to our enemies. At the end of the day, Democrats believe that it’s best for our troops to have 535 congressmen serving as micromanagers 6,200 miles away from Baghdad,” said Peterson, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee.
At its core, this bill accelerates the timetable by which American troops would withdraw from Iraq and imposes funding and tactical restrictions on our commanders on the ground and our troops in the field. Both the National Intelligence Estimate and the Iraq Study Group have laid out why legislating a date certain for surrender is detrimental to our troops’ efforts in Iraq.
The Democrats’ conference report requires the president to provide a determination by July 1 on whether the Iraqi government is making progress on certain political and security criteria. If the President fails to make any of these determinations, U.S. troops will begin withdrawing from Iraq no later than July 1 with a goal of completing the withdrawal within 180 days.
Under this measure, even if the president certifies that the Iraqi government is making progress, U.S. troops will begin withdrawing by Oct. 1 with a goal of completing the withdrawal within 180 days.
“This bill is a political charade. The Democrats’ delay in getting the president a clean funding bill for ongoing military efforts is having a tremendously damaging effect on our troops. Their continued readiness and ongoing training efforts should not be subject to political gamesmanship in Washington. The equipment needed to keep our troops safe should be funded without delay.”
Peterson cited Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace’s March 29 testimony before the Defense Appropriations Committee. When asked about the effects on the military if the supplemental was not enacted in a timely manner, Pace affirmed before the panel that, “the Army has told us that they will have to begin curtailing here at home for Guard, Reserve, and for units, which means that the baseline for those units will be reduced as far as their capability, and when they’re called, it will take them longer to be ready and could, over time, delay their availability to go back into combat.”
Peterson concluded: “I’m not a betting man, but my money’s with the leaders on the ground, with brass on their chests and blood and dirt on their boots, and not the suit wearing politicians, in their Washington offices, who know how to manage this war best.”