« To Important to Ignore | Main | Dems Scoring on WMD issue »
October 19, 2005
Talk is Cheap
From Condeleezza Rice:
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday defended U.S. policy in Iraq amid criticism from lawmakers demanding a plan to bring troops home.
In her first appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since February, Rice said the U.S. goals in Iraq are to break the back of the insurgency, keep Iraq from becoming a safe haven for Islamic extremism, turn the corner economically and become a democratic example for the entire Middle East.
She outlined a strategy to clear the toughest areas of insurgents, secure them as a sanctuary from violence and "build durable national Iraqi institutions," which she insisted would "assure victory."
"Our strategy is to clear, hold and build," she told senators. "The enemy's strategy is to infect, terrorize and pull down."
Rice said the Bush administration would "restructure" part of its mission on a model the United States found successful in Afghanistan, where diplomats and reconstruction workers are embedded with the military.
"Provincial reconstruction teams" made up of civilian and military personnel will work together to clear out insurgents, train police, set up courts and help the government establish basic services, Rice said. The first of these new teams will begin work next month.
But the hearing often turned contentious, with Rice facing tough questioning from senators on both sides of the aisle, looking for a timetable to win the peace and begin withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Timetables debatedRice refused to give a timeline for U.S. withdrawal but called Iraqi forces' assumption of responsibility for some of the toughest areas in Iraq "good benchmarks".
At this point it is "Put up or Shut up."
Posted by Chip Spear at October 19, 2005 3:22 PM