Warner’s Words Wise

Senator John Warner: “We must start an orderly, carefully-planned, thought-out redeployment. The 5,000 is not going to be a destabilizing number of armed forces. It's not going to in any way denigrate the ability of the troops to train the Iraqi Security Forces. But it will send a very clear signal to support what the president said on January 10 that we're not going to stay there forever and what Ambassador Crocker said earlier this week that the United States is not giving Iraq a blank check. Time has come to put some meaningful teeth into those comments, to back them up with some clear, decisive action to show that we mean business. The Constitution is very explicit as to the president's authority, as to the Congress' authority. In reality, we have but one tool and that is to terminate funding. And having served in the Pentagon for five years during Vietnam, and having witnessed what Congress did, I do not want to see a repeat of that.”

Senator Warner is knowledgeable. He is respected. He may also be correct. The United States should not withdraw. He is not advocating this. Five thousand would not destabilize. Five thousand would send a message. Given Iraqi’s political climate, that message would be appropriate.