Opening Statement of Congressman Todd Akin Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee Hearing on Post-Surge Alternatives for Iraq

Jan 22, 2008
Press Release

Contact: Josh Holly; 202.226.3988 

Opening Statement of Congressman Todd Akin

Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee Hearing on

Post-Surge Alternatives for Iraq

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held its second hearing in an ongoing series regarding post-surge strategies for Iraq.  Ranking Republican Todd Akin (R-MO) released the following opening statement for the subcommittee’s hearing: 

“Today’s hearing is the second in a series of hearings held this month looking at post-surge alternatives for Iraq. When this subcommittee held a similar series of hearings on this topic this past July, the security situation in Iraq—while improving—was still unstable, and the success of the surge was questioned—if not in doubt. Many of the witnesses who came before this subcommittee predicted that the surge had little—if any—chance of success.  As I stated in our last hearing, just a little more than six months later, and fortunately the skeptics were wrong. There seems to be a growing consensus that the surge has worked; that is, the security situation in Iraq, particularly in Baghdad and Anbar province, is much improved according to all the commonly cited metrics. 

“In addition to understanding how we should build on our recent successes in Iraq, which I will get to in a moment, I think it’s worthwhile to understand what we have learned about our strategy and Iraq from the success of the surge. In particular, Dr. Biddle, when you testified before this subcommittee this past July you stated, ‘The surge represents a long shot gamble that is much likelier to fail than to succeed. But the odds of success, although small, are not zero.’ I’m curious why, in retrospect, the strategy you believed to be a ‘long shot gamble’ worked?  What do we know now that we did not know six months ago? 

“With success, however, comes a new set of challenges.  So, I’d like to ask today’s panel to address the same questions that I asked the witnesses who testified at our last hearing on critical issues we face in Iraq, they are: how do we take advantage of the progress we’ve made as a result of the surge; how can we make the security gains last; how can we translate progress on the security track into progress on the political track; and finally, what will the U.S. presence in Iraq look like in the months and years to come? 

“The Administration has given us some insight into how they plan to proceed in the coming year. In November 2007, President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki signed a Declaration of Principles which stated that by 2009 the U.S. would move from a Security Council-mandated presence in Iraq to a traditional bilateral relationship with Iraq. This will include a status of forces agreement (SOFA) that would, presumably, delineate the size, roles and missions of U.S. forces in Iraq.  

“I’m curious to hear our witnesses’ views on the Declaration of Principles, and whether you believe the timeline is realistic? Moreover, what has to happen on the ground in Iraq in the next twelve months to make a successful shift to a normalized bilateral relationship?  Finally, what should a SOFA with Iraq look like, and can you articulate the types of roles and missions U.S. forces in Iraq should continue? 

“The more you can help us think about these questions the better prepared we will be to address the next cycle of Iraq legislation that will come before this House in the coming months.” 

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