MonticelloLive

I recently had the honor of leading a Congressional Delegation to Iraq to visit the nearly 3,000 members of the 39th Infantry Brigade of the Arkansas National Guard. These soldiers were mobilized in January on their second deployment within four years in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was important for me to visit Iraq and personally thank the brave men and women of the 39th for their service to our country and to let them know we support them. On the trip were several of my colleagues from the Arkansas Congressional Delegation including U.S. Senator Mark Pryor and U.S. Representatives Marion Berry and John Boozman.
Regardless of how we feel about our continued presence in Iraq, it is important that we all remain committed to supporting our troops and ensuring they have the resources and equipment they need to do their jobs as safely as possible. I am very proud of our soldiers from the Arkansas National Guard, many of whom I know personally, who have left their families and jobs and answered the call of duty halfway around the world. In addition to the normal threats of war, they are working in extreme heat. It was around 120 degrees when we were there with occasional dust storms. Some days are much hotter. Yet I didn’t hear one soldier complain, because they are focused on getting their jobs done and are anxious to return home to their families.
While the primary purpose of our trip was to visit as many Arkansas troops as possible, we also received a first-hand briefing on the situation there from the top two U.S. Army Generals managing combat operations - Army General David Petraeus and Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, Commander of Multinational Corps in Iraq. The violence is down from my last trip to Iraq in 2004, but a bombing killed 12 and wounded 24 while we were in Baghdad. It is still a very unstable country and a long way from having a lawful functioning democracy. Although the surge has clearly improved the ground situation in Iraq and reduced violence, I remained concerned about what happens when we no longer have 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and when we are not spending $16 million an hour of U.S. tax dollars there.
From both a military readiness and economic stand point, America cannot afford to stay in Iraq much longer. After six years, it is past time for the Iraqis to step up and take responsibility for providing the police and military forces needed to secure their country as well as providing the leadership for a political solution. Iraqis must want a democracy in order for it to happen and work in the long term. America cannot continue to fight their civil war for them.
Our nation’s financial commitments in the Middle East have forced us to make difficult decisions that have left many of our domestic priorities unaddressed. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may cost $2.4 trillion over the next decade. Spending in Iraq alone has reached $16 million per hour. I believe that we should start investing in our towns and communities throughout America and that can only begin when our troops begin to come home. During this Congress, I have voted four times for a responsible redeployment strategy to withdraw our troops from Iraq. I support a new direction for the war in Iraq based on diplomacy and international cooperation which will encourage the Iraqi people to take control of their own country.
It was an honor and a privilege to visit the men and women of the 39th Infantry Brigade. I return from Iraq more committed than ever to ensuring all of our troops have the equipment and resources necessary to carrying out their mission. By giving them the support they need, we can work to bring our soldiers home to their families and end Iraq’s dependence on American troops for its security.