Let the People Decide

Senator John Warner is a giant.  In the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday with General David Petraeus, USA, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Warner cut to the heart of the strategic issue in Iraq, just as he did last autumn:

SEN. JOHN WARNER (R-VA): Is all this sacrifice bringing about a more secure America?

It is the fundamental issue.  Is the war in Iraq, the valor and sacrifice of so many American service members, Foreign Service officers, and civilians making the United States safer? 

If the answer is yes, then the course should be maintained and victory should be reinforced.  But if the answer is no, then it is time for serious reflection and course correction.

General Petraeus had clearly prepared an answer to this question—and he said so:

GEN. PETRAEUS: Well, I’ve thought more than a bit about that, Senator, since September. And though I continue to think it’s a question perhaps best answered by folks with a broader view and ultimately will have to be answered by history, I obviously have thoughts on it and on the importance of achieving our objectives in Iraq.

The key passage here is that “it’s a question perhaps best answered by folks with a broader view.”  Senator Warner was asking him to pass strategic judgment on the war in Iraq.  While Petraeus is certainly qualified by education and experience to do so, the mission he leads is in Iraq.  The men and women he leads are in Iraq, many in combat, with many more, regrettably, likely to be wounded and to die.  He must believe that their sacrifice is worth it or else he would not be fit for command.

Ultimately, the point that Petraeus made was just that: the sacrifice is worth it.

GEN. PETRAEUS: Iraq has entailed huge cost. Our men and women in uniform have made enormous sacrifices — over 4,000 of them, the ultimate sacrifice. And the expenditure has been very substantial in numerous other respects including the strain on the overall force and the opportunity cost in terms of not being able to focus more elsewhere.

Having said that, there is no longer a ruthless dictator in Iraq who threatened and invaded his neighbors and who terrorized his own people. Beyond that, the seeds of a nascent democracy have been planted in an Arab country that was the cradle of civilization. And though the germination of those seeds has been anything but smooth, there has been growth. All of this, again, has come at great cost.

I recognize that the overall weighing of the scales is more than difficult and believe it is best done at this point by someone up the chain with a broader perspective. Ultimately, it can only be answered by history once the outcome in Iraq has been determined.

Having said all that, I believe the more important question at this point is how best to achieve our important interests in Iraq, interests that do have enormous implications, as I mentioned, for the safety and security of our country, 27 million Iraqis, the Mid-East region and the world with respect to al Qaeda, the spread of sectarian conflict, Iranian influence, regional stability and the global economy.

I do believe we have made progress in important areas in Iraq over the past year and I believe the recommendations Ambassador Crocker and I have provided are the best course to achieve our important objectives in Iraq.

SEN. WARNER: But General, my time — the clock is moving pretty quickly. It was a fairly simply question. Does that translate into a greater security for those of us at home? I point out this morning indications that up to 80 percent of the Americans just don’t accept the premise at this point in time that it’s worth it. Can you now, just in simple language, tell us yes, it is worth it, and it is making us safer here at home?

GEN. PETRAEUS: Senator, I do believe it is worth it, or I would not have, I guess, accepted — you know, you do what you’re ordered to do, but you sometime are asked whether you would like to or are willing to take on a task. And I took on the task of — the privilege of command of Multinational Force Iraq because I do believe that it is worth it and I do believe the interests there are of enormous importance, again, to our country, not just to the people of Iraq and the people of that region in the world.

General Petraeus made the case that the sacrifice is worth it.  But that’s not the same as saying that the war in Iraq has made America safer.

Perhaps more fundamentally, this is not General Petraeus’ war.  Congress authorized it at a time of broad public support.  President Bush conducted it.  Petraeus is the man asked to salvage a terrible situation slightly more than a year ago.  He employed classic counter-insurgency doctrine—focused on population security—and the results are there for everyone to see.  Frankly, he should have been given the job in 2003 or 2004.

But he has no broader purview.  The responses General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker gave were those of public servants who have accepted a mission and are doing their best to make work a policy set in Washington. 

But if we listen carefully to General Petraeus, he offers a key insight.  Twice in his response to Senator Warner, Petraeus deferred to authorities “up the chain” and “with a broader view.”  The list of his superiors is brief: the commander of CENTCOM; the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs; the Secretary of Defense; and the President.

Ultimately, the President’s superiors are legion.  They are the American people.  They will judge this year whether or not the war in Iraq has made America safer.  They will decide whether we stay longer or withdraw sooner.  Sovereignty is derived from the consent of the governed in the United States.  And this year, the sovereign will act.

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