01 December 2005
U.S. General Pace Says Victory Is Only Option in Iraq
Progress must be made across political, economic, security fronts
By Merle D. Kellerhals Jr.
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- There is no option in Iraq other than victory, says the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"A question that I get frequently is: Wouldn't we all just be better off if we just let them [the Iraqis] alone?" says Marine General Peter Pace.
"The answer that I give is: That would be nice if it would work, but that's not the world we live in."
Speaking at the National Defense University (NDU) at Fort McNair in Washington on December 1, Pace said some think that if the United States withdrew its forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, then the problems of terrorism and associated violence would go away.
"Our enemies have said publicly on film, on the Internet their goal is to destroy our way of life. No equivocation on their part," he said.
Speaking to students attending programs at NDU, he said those who are inciting violence do so because they want all foreigners to leave the Middle East, and then they plan to overthrow all the governments there that are not friendly to their cause so that they will be able to establish a firm base from which to spread terrorism and oppression globally.
PROGRESS MUST BE MADE ON POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SECURITY FRONTS
Pace spoke a day after President Bush released a detailed, 35-page National Strategy for Victory in Iraq, and the commander-in-chief gave a speech at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, on his strategy for winning in Iraq.
The national strategy carefully defines three stages for victory in Iraq, describes the enemy facing coalition and Iraqi forces and reports on progress being made along political, economic and security fronts. (See related article.)
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon briefing November 29 that quitting Iraq before Iraqi forces can protect and secure their own country would add considerable security risks to the United States. "Quitting is not an exit strategy," he said. (See related article.)
Pace underscored that position, saying victory in Iraq will be achieved through steady progress across political, economic and security fronts in the short-term.
In the longer term, Pace said the Iraqis will lead in all of those categories and eventually will become a free and peaceful nation offering no hospitality to terrorists.
Iraqis have been making considerable progress on the political front, he said, noting that they are preparing for their third popular election this year, to be held on December 15. He said the Iraqis have more than 300 political parties fielding candidates for 275 seats in their parliament.
In economic terms, Pace said more than 30,000 new businesses have emerged in Iraq.
"They have an economy that's ready and capable of creating wealth for their citizens," he said.
Finally, he said security might be the toughest issue facing the Iraqis, but that security is not based on how many security forces they have.
"It's about more than just gross numbers; it's also about quality," he said.
Currently, Iraq has approximately 212,000 security forces that include personnel in the national army and those in police and security forces.
It takes time to train personnel, promote unit cohesion, develop leaders and sustain those gains, he said.
Pace said there much work remains to assist the Iraqis in developing an armed force and a police force that is fully capable.
The transcript of Pace’s remarks is available on the Internet at on the Web site of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
For more information about U.S. policy see International Security.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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