Ambassador: U.S. 'Buying Time at a Cost of the Lives of Our Soldiers'
Ambassador to Iraq Says Benchmarks Are Not Good Assessors of Success
By Z. BYRON WOLF
ABC News
It was always going to be a tough day for the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, who testified today via teleconference before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Crocker's job was to convince members of Congress that the United States is making progress in Iraq and that the surge of troops into the war-torn nation is working.
In his testimony, Crocker acknowledged that while political progress has been made in Iraq, the overarching sense of fear indicates that the nation still has a long way to go.
"If there is one word I would use to sum up the atmosphere in Iraq on the streets, in the countryside, in the neighborhoods and at the national level that word would be fear," Crocker said.
The committee is a melting pot of bipartisan frustration with the U.S. Iraq policy. Democrats John Kerry, Russ Feingold and Barbara Boxer protect the left flank. But more importantly, Republicans Dick Lugar, Chuck Hagel and George Voinovich are all critical of the surge in words, if not their votes.
A majority of U.S. senators supported a proposal Wednesday to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq by April, but Republicans blocked an up or down vote by insisting on a procedural motion that requires 60 votes.
(Continued here.)
By Z. BYRON WOLF
ABC News
It was always going to be a tough day for the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, who testified today via teleconference before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Crocker's job was to convince members of Congress that the United States is making progress in Iraq and that the surge of troops into the war-torn nation is working.
In his testimony, Crocker acknowledged that while political progress has been made in Iraq, the overarching sense of fear indicates that the nation still has a long way to go.
"If there is one word I would use to sum up the atmosphere in Iraq on the streets, in the countryside, in the neighborhoods and at the national level that word would be fear," Crocker said.
The committee is a melting pot of bipartisan frustration with the U.S. Iraq policy. Democrats John Kerry, Russ Feingold and Barbara Boxer protect the left flank. But more importantly, Republicans Dick Lugar, Chuck Hagel and George Voinovich are all critical of the surge in words, if not their votes.
A majority of U.S. senators supported a proposal Wednesday to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq by April, but Republicans blocked an up or down vote by insisting on a procedural motion that requires 60 votes.
(Continued here.)
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1 Comments:
“FEAR” is the word.
Joe Mayer’s Vox Verax: Progressive Ponderings: Fear commentary discusses how the Bush Administration uses Fear as a motivator, intimidator, and truth distorter; however Amb. Crocker description of the Fear for Iraqis, Americans, and supporters of the coalition is truly a Life and Death emotion … since they experience it everyday. At least he’s being honest in his use of the term and the conditions on the ground (both inside and outside the Green Zone.)
Crocker cites that the political benchmarks should not be for evaluation, but what can be used ?
How about number of attacks ? Well, that is not looking good either as Reuters reports : The average number of daily attacks in Iraq hit a new high in June, as the final US troop deployments for President George Bush's "surge" strategy arrived in the country. Attack statistics obtained by Reuters from the Defense Department showed a June average of 177.8 attacks per day on coalition and Iraqi forces, civilians and infrastructure.
The issue of electricity. which Sen. Boxer raised, is perplexing since we have acknowledged that to be a problem it since since September 28, 2003 :
MEET THE PRESS : Why did the administration so dramatically underestimate the cost of this war?
GUEST: Dr. Condoleezza Rice, national security adviser : We did not have perfect foresight into what we were going to find in Iraq. The fact of the matter is that this deteriorated infrastructure, one that was completely covered and covered over by the gleaming pictures of Baghdad that made it look like a first-world city, what we’re learning now is that, for instance, the entire country had maybe 55 percent of the electrical generating power that it needed
Rice and the Administration have mismanaged this endeavor from the very beginning.
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