"The
Responsible Path Forward"
According
to Lawrence Korb (former Assistant Secretary
of Defense in the Reagan administration0, troop
escalation will not solve any of the problems
Iraq and the U.S. are facing today.
In Korb's testimony to Congress, he outlines
why he is not in support of this request by
the President. Below are his key points. (Click
here to read his full testimony.)
1.
The United States cannot solve Iraq's problems
militarily; resolving Iraq's civil war requires
a new political strategy.
2.
Open-ended U.S. combat deployment fosters a
culture of dependency when Iraqis should be
taking on more responsibility.
3.
The absence of a new diplomatic and political
strategy is the missing link to Iraq's neighbors
playing a more constructive and necessary role.
4.
The consequences of continued chaos in the Middle
East must be illustrated in a forceful diplomatic
offensive.
5.
Military escalation will not tackle the core
problems with Iraq's security forces and would
likely exacerbate the situation.
6.
An escalation in Iraq prevents soldiers from
being redeployed to places where a military
surge is desperately needed.
7.
Those who support military escalation lack credibility
due to the fact that they are the ones responsible
for this misadventure.
8.
Congress must not let the president continue
to ignore the American people and must exercise
its constitutional powers to halt the escalation.
9.
The United States must change course now rather
than heed the dictates of a president who has
continued to mislead us about this war. |
