Iraq: No End in Sight by Congressman James L. Oberstar Appearing in Press Release on 2006-10-25. Bush and Grams are Committing the U.S. to Ideological War in Iraq Duluth – U.S. Congressman Jim Oberstar says President George W. Bush is not showing the leadership it will take to finish the job in Iraq and bring our troops home. Both Bush and Oberstar’s opponent for his 8th District seat, Rod Grams, have failed to layout a clear plan for getting out of Iraq. “I was deeply troubled by the President’s news conference today,” said Oberstar. “He said the Iraq War will not be won until we defeat the ideology of the insurgents. Those factions have been fighting for over a thousand years. This is not the job our soldiers signed up for. Iraq has a government, now we need to put Iraqi security forces in place and bring our troops home with honor.” When asked to comment on the Iraq conflict 8th District challenger Rod Grams has only said, “The only timetable is victory.” “Grams has steadfastly held to the same short sighted vision that President Bush has,” said Oberstar. “He has refused to set any criteria for holding the Iraqi government accountable for policing its own territory. He and President Bush talk about finding a ‘path to victory’ but it is clear that they have wandered off of that path and into a quagmire.” Oberstar says the Bush administration is not holding the new Iraqi government accountable enough. This morning Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said no timetable for withdrawal will be imposed on his country. “This is outrageous,” said Oberstar, “Iraqi forces are refusing to patrol their own streets, while our men and women are being killed.” Last month American commanders had requested an additional 3,000 Iraqi troops to help patrol Baghdad, but only a few hundred showed up. Some Iraqi battalions have refused to be deployed to Baghdad. “At least Bush has conceded that we need to set some benchmarks for withdrawal. I consider that a step forward. The future of Iraq is in the hands of the Iraqi people, we cannot solve their problems for them. It looks like we will have to push them to take control of their own security,” said Oberstar. Oberstar says increasing U.S. troop presence has only increased violence in Iraq. Over the summer an additional 6,000 U.S. forces were moved into Baghdad for Operation Together Forward. Currently there are 15,000 U.S. troops in the Iraqi capitol and 9,000 Iraqi forces. But despite this increased presence October was the bloodiest month of the Iraq conflict and violence has climbed 43%. ###

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