2006.12.22: December 22, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Dominican Republic: Politics: Congress: Election2008 - Dodd: Iraq: Connecticut Post: Chris Dodd says plans for a temporary surge of American forces in Iraq "a mistake," saying they would simply provide insurgents additional targets to attack
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2006.12.22: December 22, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Dominican Republic: Politics: Congress: Election2008 - Dodd: Iraq: Connecticut Post: Chris Dodd says plans for a temporary surge of American forces in Iraq "a mistake," saying they would simply provide insurgents additional targets to attack
Chris Dodd says plans for a temporary surge of American forces in Iraq "a mistake," saying they would simply provide insurgents additional targets to attack
There is no need for a so-called surge of 20,000 to 30,000 troops in Iraq. In fact, in my conversations with the senior military commanders in Iraq they confirm that," the Connecticut Democrat said. Dodd spoke to reporters by telephone from Tel Aviv, after a five-country tour of the Middle East where he met with leaders from Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Israel. Military officials, Dodd said, expressed the view that "there is no need for additional troops absent a determination to achieve a political unity between the Shia, Sunni and Kurds. "I agree with them on that," he said. "Just becoming additional targets of opportunity for al-Qaida, or the insurgents, or the former Baathist supporters of Saddam Hussein, I think would be a mistake." Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic in the 1960's.
Chris Dodd says plans for a temporary surge of American forces in Iraq "a mistake," saying they would simply provide insurgents additional targets to attack
More troops to Iraq a mistake: Dodd
PETER URBAN purban@ctpost.com
Article Last Updated: 12/22/2006 12:36:37 AM EST
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd called plans for a temporary surge of American forces in Iraq "a mistake" Thursday, saying they would simply provide insurgents additional targets to attack.
"There is no need for a so-called surge of 20,000 to 30,000 troops in Iraq. In fact, in my conversations with the senior military commanders in Iraq they confirm that," the Connecticut Democrat said.
Dodd spoke to reporters by telephone from Tel Aviv, after a five-country tour of the Middle East where he met with leaders from Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Israel.
Military officials, Dodd said, expressed the view that "there is no need for additional troops absent a determination to achieve a political unity between the Shia, Sunni and Kurds.
"I agree with them on that," he said. "Just becoming additional targets of opportunity for al-Qaida, or the insurgents, or the former Baathist supporters of Saddam Hussein, I think would be a mistake."
There are already 140,000 American troops there.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., reached an entirely different conclusion a week earlier after attending a similar meeting with military officials in Baghdad.
"After speaking with our military commanders on the ground, I strongly believe that additional U.S. troops must be deployed to Baghdad," he said in a statement.
The increase, Lieberman said, would allow American troops to establish security throughout the Iraqi capital, train the Iraqi army, hold critical central neighborhoods there, and clamp down on the insurgency.
"We must provide vital breathing space for moderate Shiites and Sunnis who are now attempting to turn back the radicals in their communities," he said. "We must achieve success in Iraq because the consequences of failure would be catastrophic both in emboldening Iran and in the global war against Islamic extremism."
President Bush is considering a temporary surge of as many as 40,000 new troops into Iraq to secure Baghdad — an idea suggested by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., last week when he and Lieberman visited military leaders there.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates spoke with Iraqi officials in Baghdad Thursday about possible additional military assistance for the embattled government. Gates told reporters afterward that no specific numbers of extra troops were discussed.
As of Thursday, 71 American troops had been killed in December with 10 days left in the month — meaning that it already ranks as one of the four deadliest months for U.S. forces this year.
If there is no letup in the violence, the number of deaths will reach or exceed the 105 killed in October, the deadliest month so far. Meanwhile, attacks by death squads, bombers and others against Iraqi civilian and security targets continued Thursday.
Dodd said that a military solution would not resolve the ongoing violence in Iraq — that will only come when "religious and political leaders" come together in support of a united nation.
Earlier this month, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, headed by Howard Baker and Lee Hamilton, recommended reducing the U.S. combat role in Iraq and shifting the focus to training and supporting Iraqi units.
Gen. James Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, said one option under consideration by the president is sending five or more additional combat brigades, which equates to roughly 20,000 or more troops. Conway did not say he opposes the proposal, but he emphasized the potential drawbacks.
"We would fully support, I think, as the Joint Chiefs, the idea of putting more troops into Iraq if there is a solid military reason for doing that,'' he said. The five or more extra brigades would, he said, be units already scheduled to go to Iraq in a later rotation. But he added that using those troops now would mean "a lesser capable" force in the future. "You better make sure your timing is right," he said. "Because if you commit the reserve for something other than a decisive win or to stave off defeat, then you have essentially shot your bolt."
Dodd, making his third visit to Iraq since the war began, met with Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and had dinner with about 20 military personnel from Connecticut. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., accompanied him on the trip.
The two senators, each a potential presidential candidate in 2008, also met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. Dodd, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also visited Jordan's King Abdullah II.
"I've been coming to the Middle East and traveling here since the mid-1970s and I have never seen it as tense as it is today," said Dodd, who blamed the tensions on the decision by the Bush administration six years ago to put Middle East issues on the back burner.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Headlines: December, 2006; RPCV Chris Dodd (Dominican Republic); Figures; Peace Corps Dominican Republic; Directory of Dominican Republic RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Dominican Republic RPCVs; Politics; Congress; Iraq; Connecticut
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Story Source: Connecticut Post
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