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U.S. Republican congressmen Tom Petri:
'How to win in Iraq' 7.3.2007
Following is a Feb. 16 statement by Tom Petri
explaining his decision |
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March
7, 2007
“I have heard from a lot of people in central
Wisconsin who are upset that I have expressed my
doubts about President Bush’s surge policy.
“Let me be clear: I support the troops, I support
victory in Iraq, and I am opposed to a hasty
withdrawal. However, I am concerned that 20,000 more
U.S. troops there won’t be enough to make a
significant difference, and that the public isn’t
willing to commit the kinds of forces necessary to
do the job that President Bush wants them to do. I
am standing up and saying, ‘Stop, and give this some
fresh thought!’
“Unlike many of the Democrats who oppose the surge
proposal because they oppose the president for
political as well as policy reasons, I am trying to
promote a new policy which could get us better
results faster, and at less cost in lives. I think
we need to define ‘victory’ in Iraq as reasonable
stability with reasonably benign and reasonably
representative government, but that our current
effort to create a multi-cultural democracy has too
much to overcome.
“Our greatest problem right now is that neither the
Sunnis, the Shias nor the Kurds are willing to allow
themselves to be governed by members of the other
groups. With great conflict and pain, the country is
already dividing itself up along ethnic and
sectarian lines. I think we can hasten stability by
supporting the creation of a federal government
under which Sunni, Shia and Kurd provinces would
mostly be left to govern themselves. |
Rep. Tom Petri, R-Wis., was one of 17 Republican
congressmen who broke ranks with the Bush
administration and voted in support of a House of
Representatives resolution showing disapproval of
the recent escalation of troop levels in Iraq. Tom
Petri, who represents Wisconsin's 6th Congressional
District, is serving his 15th term in the U.S. House
of Representatives. First elected in April
1979, Petri has been returned to office every two
years since.
Official web
Photo: House.gov |
“This will require negotiations over territory and
oil revenues. It will also require policing to keep
the different parties apart. But it will be easier
to keep them apart if separate provinces are
established which are mostly homogeneous.
“There is a reason why the Kurdish areas of Iraq are
so peaceful and prosperous — there are few people
there other than Kurds, and the Kurds run their own
local government.
“Southern Iraq is also relatively peaceful because
that area is dominated by the Shias. The worst
conflicts are in Baghdad where the three groups are
jostling for control of neighborhoods, and in areas
west of Baghdad where the Sunnis are fighting an
insurgency against what they see as Americans allied
with the Shias.
“We can improve the situation relatively quickly by
putting aside our desire that everybody just get
along with each other, and instead accept that to
reduce friction, the groups need to be allowed
separate communities where each group will feel
secure and in control of local affairs.”
house gov
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