Sen Coleman calls for withdrawal of 5,000 troops in Iraq by Christmas
Tuesday, 04 September 2007
by T.W. Budig
ECM capitol reporter
U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman returned from a weekend trip to Iraq calling for the withdrawal of 5,000 U.S. troops by Christmas.
Although the Republican senator expressed optimism over the perceived success of the so-called military “surge” that now has about 160,000 U.S. troops in Iraq — Coleman said he heard as positive talk from officials as during any of his four trips to the county — he also spoke of the need to send a “message” to the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
“There is no (U.S.) blank check in Iraq,” Coleman said Iraqi officials need to realize.
The political progress achieved by the Maliki government “has been disappointing, to say the least,” said Coleman. Improvements must be made, Coleman indicated.
Coleman (pictured at right) is not the lone Republican to call for a partial withdrawal — he still opposes setting withdrawal timelines, Coleman explained.
Just recently Sen. John Warner, R-Va., a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also called for the withdrawal of 5,000 U.S. troops by the end of December.
Bad predictions
“The last four years has been riddled with bad predictions and broken promisees in Iraq,” acknowledged Coleman.
Still, Coleman was guardedly upbeat.
He spoke of a “remarkable change” occurring with the Sunnis — a minority faction once violently oppose to U.S. forces but have now, according to media reports, often militarily backed U.S. efforts in combating al Qaeda.
Indeed, Coleman explained his misgivings about the surge were misplaced.
“I was wrong in my assessment,” he said.
Coleman spoke of standing on the steps of the Government Center in Ramadi — a city of east of Baghdad in Anbar Providence — without a flak jacket or helmet.
That could not have been done only short months ago, Coleman explained, speaking from Washington to reporters.
He met with the mayor of Ramadi, a city located near a lake in baking hot Iraq, who spoke of the need of developing tourism, Coleman reported.
This is in an area of Iraq where al Qaeda once paraded in the streets, he explained.
The temperature in Ramadi was about 120 degrees and Coleman joked about the supposedly more readily endurable “dry heat” of Iraq as like an oven.
“It’s a war we’re winning”
The main war against al Qaeda is being fought in Iraq, Coleman opined. “And it’s a war we’re winning,” he said.
The senator views the change of U.S. strategy and tactics in Iraq as absolutely critical.
Coleman, who did not travel with President Bush during his recent visit to Iraq, said he met with Gen. David Petraeus — surge architect who will be appearing before Congress in short weeks to give a much anticipated report on U.S. progress in Iraq — as well as with other officials, both U.S. and Iraqi.
Coleman, who added that make no mistake Iraq is still a violent country, views the struggle within the country as shifting from a civil war to power sharing.
Iran is enemy
He points to Iran as the great enemy for the U.S. operating within Iraq, an enemy of stability.
Coleman called for a diplomatic surge — neighboring friendly countries to come together to determine ways of promoting stability in the county.
Coleman envisions American forces in Iraq for a long time but with a changed mission.
The Iraq War has claimed more than 3,730 U.S. lives.
Coleman, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, faces re-election next year.
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