Congressman Brian Baird, Democrat, has comes back saying there is progress and we need to stay longer.
U.S. Rep. Brian Baird said Thursday that his recent trip to Iraq convinced him the military needs more time in the region, and that a hasty pullout would cause chaos that helps Iran and harms U.S. security.
"I believe that the decision to invade Iraq and the post-invasion management of that country were among the largest foreign-policy mistakes in the history of our nation. I voted against them, and I still think they were the right votes," Baird said in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C.
"But we're on the ground now. We have a responsibility to the Iraqi people and a strategic interest in making this work."
Baird, a five-term Democrat, voted against President Bush ordering the Iraq invasion — at a time when he was in a minority in Congress and at risk of alienating voters. He returned late Tuesday from a trip that included stops in Israel, Jordan and Iraq, where he met troops, U.S. advisers and Iraqis, whose stories have convinced him that U.S. troops must stay longer.
With Congress poised next month to look at U.S. progress in Iraq and a vote looming on U.S. funding for the war, Baird said he's inclined to seek a continued U.S. presence in Iraq beyond what many impatient Americans want. He also expects Gen. David Petraeus, who oversees U.S. troops in Iraq, to seek a redeployment of forces. "People may be upset. I wish I didn't have to say this," Baird said. He added that the United States needs to continue with its military troops surge "at least into early next year, then engage in a gradual redeployment. … I know it's going to cost hundreds of American lives and hundreds of billions of dollars."
His two reasons for saying this:
Baird said he would not say this if he didn't believe two things:
• "One, I think we're making real progress."
• "Secondly, I think the consequences of pulling back precipitously would be potentially catastrophic for the Iraqi people themselves, to whom we have a tremendous responsibility … and in the long run chaotic for the region as a whole and for our own security."
The only people that are still not able to see the progress in Iraq are those so blinded by their political agenda they cannot see the truth.
Progress is being made and the surge is working.
Kudos to those that are capable of admitting the truth, even if they do not like it.
Others talking about this:
NRO, Protein Wisdom.
Keep track of the reactions to this story as they come out because Baird has just issued a decision that is going to earn him the scorn of the left.
This isn't going to be pretty.
[Update] Some war critics are honest enough to admit when the tide is turning. I often criticize them for not acknowledging what is plain to see, so I must be fair and acknowledge when they DO admit the truth.
Baird was my Congressman when I lived in Washington, and I’ve been getting his constituent e-mails for years. If he believes we’re finally making progress in Iraq, then so do I. It’s one thing for invasion-boosters to claim progress, as they’ve pretty much been doing that all along, but when invasion-bashers make these claims, it’s news.
I might criticize the left for refusing to see the truth when it hits them in the head with a shovel, but I have to be fair and also admit when someone on the other side of the aisle is also being fair and The Naval of the Internet, has just BEEN fair.
[Update #2] Take Our Country Back has a great piece about Baird up, so head over and give him a shout.
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