(Washington, DC) – Congressman Mark Udall (D-Eldorado Springs), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has joined a coalition of moderate Democrats in the U.S. House in sending a letter to President Bush outlining four principles for a plan in Iraq.
Because of recent developments and yesterday’s elections in Iraq, Udall said now is the time for the U.S. to accelerate the transition to full Iraqi sovereignty and create the conditions for the redeployment of American forces from Iraq. “2006 ought to be a period of significant transition in Iraq, where political and diplomatic success eases the burden on our military,” said Udall.
“After nearly three years of intimate U.S. involvement with Iraq’s political development and security operations, the election of a permanent Iraqi government means the United States has the opportunity to scale back its involvement in Iraq,” the coalition states in its letter.
The four principles that should guide U.S. policy in Iraq include: the new Iraqi government be inclusive and non-sectarian; the Iraqi government must take full responsibility for defeating all domestic security threats; the United States military presence in Iraq should decrease significantly in the next twelve months and the U.S. role should be to isolate and defeat foreign terrorists and foreign jihadists in Iraq; and Iraq, its regional neighbors and the international community must take on more of the nation-building portion of the mission in Iraq.
Udall, who opposed the Iraq war resolution, has resisted supporting a deadline for withdrawing troops. Last month, he urged key lawmakers who are negotiating a defense spending bill to include in it a bipartisan Senate amendment calling for President Bush to put forth a strategy for redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq and to report to Congress on progress toward the goal of a transition to full Iraqi sovereignty in 2006.
Udall concluded by saying: “We need a plan that is designed to bring our troops home and make clear to the Islamic world that we harbor no ambitions for permanent bases, Iraqi oil revenues or any military occupation. But how we withdraw is as important as when we withdraw. This means giving the Iraqis time to form a permanent government and establish the means for international support. We must exercise care in the way our country withdraws because leaving a failed state in Iraq will deeply endanger our country.”