President Bush's policy in Iraq is failing

Spectrum, by Gilbert Roetman

Our policy in Iraq is failing. President George W. Bush is telling regional media that the situation in Iraq is "a lot better than you probably think." But troops are dying daily. Reservists who signed up to guard airports have now been in Iraq for six months with no hopes of coming home soon -- in part because even our closest allies won't send troops to Iraq. The United Nations has pulled its staff out of Iraq, citing security risks. And unemployment in Iraq is more than 70 percent. (Associated Press, 10/15/2003)

The new U.N. resolution will do little. As Reuters reported: "In a joint statement, France, Russia and Germany said the resolution should have gone further in expanding the political role of the United Nations and accelerating the transfer of power to Iraq. 'In that context, the conditions are not created for us to envisage any military commitment and no further financial contributions beyond our present engagement.' they said … Pakistan, considered a prime candidate for sending soldiers, declined to do so, saying the new multinational force created under the resolution was not distinct enough from occupation troops." (Reuters, 10/17/2003)

We need a change of course and a change of teams. President Bush is unwilling to make the drastic change necessary to salvage the operation in Iraq. His intransigence is putting our international reputation, our national security, and the safety of our troops at stake. President Bush must admit the failure of the go-it-alone approach and hire a new foreign policy team that's willing to work with the international community.

There is no emergency need for the $87 billion. The Congressional Research Service issued a report yesterday showing that the funding bills already passed provide enough funding to continue the occupation of Iraq and protect the troops until spring of next year. Congress could have taken the time to properly debate and analyze the request, but congressional Republicans wanted to rush the request through in order to limit the political damage. (Congressional Research Service, 10/15/2003)

Iraq contracts are rife with waste and crony capitalism. Halliburton, the firm Vice President Dick Cheney led in the 1990s, is receiving billions of dollars in contracts. According to the two lawmakers, Halliburton has charged the government $1.62 to $1.70 a gallon for gasoline that could be bought wholesale in the Persian Gulf region for about 71 cents and transported to Iraq for no more than 25 cents. Meanwhile, local Iraqi businesses are shunned, and other contractors whose bids are lower are being ignored. And U.S. companies are charging taxpayers exorbitant rates for reconstruction -- $50,000 per bed, for example, for new Iraqi prisons, which is more than twice what we pay on average here. (Salon, 10/16/2003)

Troops are demoralized. According to the Washington Post: "A broad survey of U.S. troops in Iraq by a Pentagon-funded newspaper found that half of those questioned described their unit's morale as low and their training as insufficient, and said they do not plan to reenlist. The survey, conducted by the Stars and Stripes newspaper, also recorded about a third of the respondents complaining that their mission lacks clear definition and characterizing the war in Iraq as of little or no value. Fully 40 percent said the jobs they were doing had little or nothing to do with their training." (Washington Post, 10/15/2003)

The war on Iraq has increased the danger of terrorism. Reuters reports: "War in Iraq has swollen the ranks of al Qaeda and galvanized the Islamic militant group's will, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said on Wednesday in its annual report." (Reuters, 10/15/2003)

Gilbert Roetman is an Anchorage resident.