09 December 2005
Congressional Report, December 9: Consultations on Iraq
Rumsfeld, senior general meet with members of Congress on Iraq strategy
A congressional delegation that recently returned from Iraq met with senior U.S. military and civilian leaders December 8 in Washington to say that they think Iraq is moving in the right direction toward democracy.
Representative Bill Schuster told reporters on Capitol Hill that he came away from Iraq with the impression that political developments “are moving in the right direction.” His colleague, Representative Dennis Rehberg, was ebullient saying the progress there “is unbelievable” and that “democracy is moving forward.” (See related article.)
Representative Jack Kingston said he and his traveling companions were excited to see that 50 percent of Iraq’s capital city, Baghdad, now is controlled exclusively by Iraqi security forces and in Mosul they are responsible for security in a quarter of the city.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who answered reporters’ questions alongside the members of Congress, said the U.S. military has been turning over chunks of Iraqi “real estate to Iraqi security forces as their capabilities have increased” as part of a continuing process.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Marine General Peter Pace, who accompanied Rumsfeld, said 29 forward operating bases – formerly controlled by the coalition – either have been closed or turned over to Iraqi control. The Iraqis are taking back control of increasing amounts of their own territory, he said.
Representative Jim Marshall, who spoke at a separate media availability with Pace and Rumsfeld, said any hasty withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq will result in chaos and greatly could increase security problems in the Middle East.
Marshall said that, if the United States withdrew from Iraq precipitously, that region of the world “will tend toward Islamic extremists, jihadists, the militants – [emerging as] more like a Taliban-type environment.”
Representative Todd Tiahrt said he found the success of Iraq’s economy under-reported. It will grow by 15 percent this year, he said.
Asked about the possibility of a reduction in the number of U.S. troops assigned to Iraq after the December 15 elections in that country, Rumsfeld said any reduction would depend on improving conditions. There are about 160,000 U.S. soldiers currently stationed in Iraq “and we certainly expect to go back down to 137,000 [the level prior to the lead-up to the December elections],” the secretary said, adding “if conditions permit we can go below that.”
“Time will tell,” Rumsfeld continued, suggesting that any drawdown would be tied to circumstances existing after the new Iraqi government is formed and U.S. military commanders have had a chance to make their recommendations regarding troop levels for 2006.
For additional information, see Iraq Update.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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