After trip, Smith confident in Iraq, Afghanistan progress
Rep. Adrian Smith is convinced that progress is being made in Iraq and Afghanistan but still sees an enormous job ahead for both countries and the United States.
The Republican who represents Nebraska’s 3rd House District said Friday just returned from a trip to both countries. What he saw and heard bolstered his belief that he voted correctly against a House funding bill that sets a time table for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, Smith said.
The House wants to end combat operations before September 2008; the Senate voted to set a nonbinding goal of ending combat by March 31, 2008.
President Bush promises to veto any funding bill that contains a time table.
As Smith spoke with troops and their commanders, he said, he learned of their desire for flexibility to do their jobs.
“Too much direction from Congress would really, really complicate matters,” he said.
When Smith was asked whether U.S. troops might still be in Iraq five or 10 years from now, he gave no estimate but noted that major U.S. forces stayed in Japan and Germany decades after the end of World War II. And, he said, U.S. troops are still in South Korea more than 50 years after the Korean War fighting ended, helping deter any North Korean aggression.
One of the Iraqis he talked to hoped his country would someday have the same sort of friendly relationship with the United States that Germany and Japan have.
And, Smith said, the Iraqi said he didn’t want Iraq to have the chilly dealings Vietnam still has with the United States, more than 30 years after the communist forces prevailed.
Smith said he hopes Iraq’s government will soon achieve the relative stability enjoyed by Afghanistan, which requires far fewer U.S. troops.
He also said U.S. leaders in Iraq report the fighting is more than just an internecine conflict between Sunni and Shiite forces, that tribal conflicts are just as bloody.
If U.S. troops were withdrawn before Iraq’s government and military forces were ready, Smith said, the subsequent chaos and violence would force a U.S. return.
He also fears that were U.S. troops to leave early, foreign insurgents in Iraq would move on to Afghanistan to work at destabilizing that nation.
Smith was joined on his trip by four other freshmen members of Congress.
Changes are occurring in Iraq, he said, but there has been far more media and political attention on the problems there than the progress being made.
In a news release, Smith said: “We have a long way to go. There is tough and difficult work ahead, but we are making progress.”
The Republican who represents Nebraska’s 3rd House District said Friday just returned from a trip to both countries. What he saw and heard bolstered his belief that he voted correctly against a House funding bill that sets a time table for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, Smith said.
The House wants to end combat operations before September 2008; the Senate voted to set a nonbinding goal of ending combat by March 31, 2008.
President Bush promises to veto any funding bill that contains a time table.
As Smith spoke with troops and their commanders, he said, he learned of their desire for flexibility to do their jobs.
“Too much direction from Congress would really, really complicate matters,” he said.
When Smith was asked whether U.S. troops might still be in Iraq five or 10 years from now, he gave no estimate but noted that major U.S. forces stayed in Japan and Germany decades after the end of World War II. And, he said, U.S. troops are still in South Korea more than 50 years after the Korean War fighting ended, helping deter any North Korean aggression.
One of the Iraqis he talked to hoped his country would someday have the same sort of friendly relationship with the United States that Germany and Japan have.
And, Smith said, the Iraqi said he didn’t want Iraq to have the chilly dealings Vietnam still has with the United States, more than 30 years after the communist forces prevailed.
Smith said he hopes Iraq’s government will soon achieve the relative stability enjoyed by Afghanistan, which requires far fewer U.S. troops.
He also said U.S. leaders in Iraq report the fighting is more than just an internecine conflict between Sunni and Shiite forces, that tribal conflicts are just as bloody.
If U.S. troops were withdrawn before Iraq’s government and military forces were ready, Smith said, the subsequent chaos and violence would force a U.S. return.
He also fears that were U.S. troops to leave early, foreign insurgents in Iraq would move on to Afghanistan to work at destabilizing that nation.
Smith was joined on his trip by four other freshmen members of Congress.
Changes are occurring in Iraq, he said, but there has been far more media and political attention on the problems there than the progress being made.
In a news release, Smith said: “We have a long way to go. There is tough and difficult work ahead, but we are making progress.”
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