STATEMENT BY
JOHN J. HAMRE
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL
STUDIES
BEFORE THE
HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 8, 2003
Chairman
Hunter, Representative Skelton,
distinguished members of the Armed Services
Committee; it is an honor to be able to
testify before you on the issue of
Reconstruction and Rehabilitation in Iraq.
I was privileged to be able to testify
before the Congress in July after my
colleagues and I returned from our trip to
Iraq on behalf of Secretary Rumsfeld.
This is
a critical hearing. There must be “next
steps” for Iraq. America is now a Middle
East power. We cannot forsake our
responsibilities or avoid our obligations.
We must succeed in the rebuilding of Iraq,
to help create a government that is
representative of its people, at peace with
its neighbors, and offers a future of hope
and promise for its citizens.
My
colleagues and I returned from Iraq with two
broad suggestions. We need to dramatically
“indiginize” the security program in Iraq
and we need to expand the international base
of support for the operation. We indicated
that the Coalition Provisional Authority was
rapidly running out of money and would soon
need supplemental funds. We also indicated
that the security situation in Iraq remained
problematic and that without dramatic
improvements in security, the remainder of
the rebuilding effort would be substantially
impeded.
In the
two-and-half months since we visited Iraq I
believe there has been significant
improvement. We receive reports from
friends and acquaintances in Iraq that the
security picture is somewhat improved,
despite the attacks on our forces. There is
some improvement, especially in the northern
and southern portions of the country.
But Iraq
is far from a secure environment. Just a
couple of weeks ago the major pipeline north
from the oil fields was yet again blown up.
Attacks against our troops are becoming more
sophisticated and daring. The economic
plundering of the country continues.
We
continue to believe that the highest
priority for enhancing security should rest
with expanding the role of Iraqi security
personnel. The Administration has launched
new efforts to recruit security personnel,
as contract security officers for specific
installations, as policemen, and
increasingly as border guards.
It does
not appear at this point that there will be
significant contributions of foreign
military personnel. We have to build the
capacities of Iraqis themselves to bring
security to the country.
President’s Request for Supplemental Funds
for Iraq
President Bush has requested that Congress
appropriate an additional $87 billion for
Iraq and Afghanistan. I know that there is
a great deal of controversy associated with
this request. Nonetheless, Mr. Chairman, it
is critical that the Congress appropriate
these funds.
As I
said at the outset, for better or worse,
America is now a Middle East power. We now
own this problem. We cannot walk away from
the problem. We must now shoulder it. The
American people need to know that this
investment is both necessary and well
designed. Here I believe the Administration
has not followed through adequately.
To date
there has not been a satisfactory accounting
of how funds are being spent, and only
recently has the Pentagon begun explaining
how these additional funds will impact the
reconstruction effort. I used to be the
Comptroller at the Defense Department and I
know full well that we live in a world of
estimates. The best-planned estimate will
always be wrong. I know that from first
hand experience. But I also know that the
sharpest critic will accept this fact so
long as I offered a complete counting of the
facts I could count on and the assumptions I
had to make. Congress will accept estimates
so long as they understand how we made them
and conclude that they are reasonable.
I have
full confidence in the DoD Comptroller, Dr.
Dov Zakheim. I have worked with him for
years and I know he is a thoroughly honest
man. Unfortunately there has developed over
the past two years a general level of
distrust between the Administration and the
Congress on budget matters and even on
defense issues. This is now blocking the
way to a full understanding of our
collective problem and the solutions we must
adopt.
I
strongly encourage the Defense Department to
continue its efforts to provide as complete
and comprehensive an assessment as possible
of the costs that we are incurring and are
forecast to incur during the coming year.
Up until
just a day ago, we had too narrow an
institutional base to support the
reconstruction efforts in Iraq. I think it
was an excellent idea for Ambassador Bremer
to establish a liaison office here in
Washington, headed up by Mr. Ruben
Jeffries. But until the President named his
National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice
to lead a broader interagency effort, it was
a problem that Mr. Bremer had to rely on a
small staff in Washington to support him.
In general, the efforts to enlist a wider
base of support in the federal government
for the reconstruction effort is a step in
the right direction, and I’m more hopeful
that we are getting on the right path.
This
raises the question of whether or not the
federal responsibilities for rebuilding Iraq
should have been assigned exclusively to the
Defense Department. I understand and
appreciate Secretary Rumsfeld’s view that
the Defense Department would overwhelmingly
field the assets required for
reconstruction, and therefore he should have
complete authority to undertake the task.
In theory I agree with this. But in
practice it has not worked. The patterns of
cooperation inside the Government broke down
during the past year. DoD found itself
having to manage tasks for which it has no
background or competence, and it has not
been effective in inviting the support of
others in the government who have that
background and competence. So the
President’s direction to Condoleezza Rice to
take over the coordinating function for
reconstruction should improve collaboration
with other, better skilled parts of our
government.
The
challenge of rebuilding Iraq is enormous.
We have been eroding too much of our
effectiveness caused by bureaucratic
struggles here in Washington.
Mr.
Chairman, Representative Skleton,
Distinguished Members, we must succeed in
our task to rebuild Iraq. This isn’t a
matter of America’s credibility. This is a
question of our security. We will be
substantially less secure as a nation if we
fail. We have made important progress
during the past four months. This is
challenging, but it is not hopeless. We
have the capacity to succeed, and I join you
in offering my full efforts to make this
possible.
Thank
you. I would be pleased to answer any
questions you may have at the appropriate
time.
