I write Both Senator Santorum and Senator Spector often; but this is by far the most detailed reply I have received. I feel that I should remind everyone that the function of a Senator is to attend to the needs of his/her constituents. It is NOT to defend his/her position nor actions; especially when they have so readily and clearly proved themselves to be obsolete and disfunctional.
Lastly, I find it particularly despicable for the Senator to revisit his most recent WMD lie, especially in the "tricky" context of the letter below.
Dear Mr. Gatto:
Thank you for contacting me regarding ongoing U.S. activities in Iraq. I appreciate your thoughts and comments on this important issue, and your sentiments about the U.S. effort to support the Global War on Terror.
As I hope we can agree, U.S. and Coalition forces have played a critical role in helping Iraqis to secure their new democracy, establish a well-trained military force, make considerable progress on major reconstruction projects, and to conduct national elections in December 2005.
As you may recall, in November 2005, President Bush addressed the nation and highlighted the United States' National Strategy for Victory in Iraq. In his speech, the President redefined a short term, medium term, and long term strategy to secure victory in Iraq. This strategy, in response to those who seek an accelerated re-deployment of U.S. forces, was made public for the first time. The President's goals in Iraq include defeating terrorists, building institutions, meeting political milestones, and standing up security forces. Long term goals in the President's strategy include a peaceful, democratic, united country that is well integrated and a full partner in the war on terror.
You may be interested to know that in early 2006, I wrote to President Bush concerning both the military operations in Iraq and the need to better assess the progress toward achieving our goal of building a democracy in the Middle East. In this letter, I called for the creation of a panel of experts to objectively and critically report to the American people on the progress being made in Iraq. I believe that an objective and capable independent panel would help in building the confidence and trust of the American people on progress in Iraq. Importantly, this panel should be forward-looking -- focusing on what we as a nation must do to achieve success in Iraq.
Based on communication shared with my office from military service members serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, I believe that the American people have not received an accurate picture of America's successes and challenges in helping Iraq establish their democracy. I believe that media reports have failed to fully address the consequences of failing on our mission in Iraq, both for the American people and the people of Iraq. An independent commission or panel would help to correct these deficiencies. Ultimately, President Bush agreed with me on this request and established this panel at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
As you may be aware, recent debate on Iraq has tended to focus on a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces. On June 21, 2006, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts introduced an amendment (SA 444) to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 National Defense Authorization Act. This amendment would have directed the President to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq by December 31, 2006, but leave forces critical to completing the mission of standing up Iraqi security forces. SA 4442 would have also directed the President to maintain an "over-the-horizon troop presence" to prosecute the Global War on Terror and protect regional security interests. It also would have directed the President to convene an international summit for the purpose of reaching a comprehensive political agreement for Iraq. You may be interested to know that this amendment failed overwhelmingly in the Senate on a vote of 13-86.
Further, Senator Carl Levin of Michigan also introduced an amendment (SA 4320) to the FY 2007 National Defense Authorization Act to express the sense of Congress that the President should set a timeline to withdraw from Iraq. The Levin amendment recommended the President begin the phased redeployment of United States forces from Iraq this year. It also advised the President submit to Congress a plan by the end of 2006 with estimated dates for the continued phased redeployment of United States forces from Iraq. This amendment also failed in the Senate on a vote of 39-60.
I have been working closely with Representative Peter Hoekstra, Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, on advocating for the release of newly declassified information captured by Coalition forces that proves the existence of chemical munitions in Iraq. On June 21, 2006, some of this information was shared with oversight Committees of Congress by the Director of National Intelligence and an unclassified summary of analysis conducted by the National Ground Intelligence Center was also made available.
Specifically, the unclassified summary contains a listing which proves that since 2004, Coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons which contain mustard or sarin nerve agent in various stages of degradation. It has been reported in open press that insurgents and Iraqi groups desire to acquire and use chemical weapons which could have serious implications for U.S. servicemembers serving in Iraq.
While there are significant challenges that remain ahead before the Iraqi people are capable of providing for their own security, it should be noted that the Iraqi people have already made significant progress. In fact, the Iraqi people have reached every political benchmark in their transitional political process so far, have significantly increased the number of Iraqi forces that are trained and capable, and are working to restore, reform, and build their economy.
I believe that we cannot weaken in our resolve to provide the people of Iraq with a stable, democratic government. If the U.S. were to withdraw from Iraq too quickly, the country's nascent democratic government would likely be destabilized by foreign insurgents or terrorist factions. A long and bloody civil war might then take place. For that reason, I continue to support our commitment to the people of Iraq and continue to support our efforts to provide for a stable democracy in the country.