We Need More Troops in Iraq to Fight Islamic Fascism

I’ve personally discussed, at length, the fight against Islamic Fascism with our President. I have no doubt that he is committed to winning this war and wakes up every morning more determined than anyone in America to prevent another terrorist attack on the American homeland.

But I will speak truth to power. While our military easily removed the brutal dictatorship government that was in power, we simply have been unable to win the war. The lesson from Baghdad and the lesson from the Israeli-Hezbollah war in Lebanon is that terrorist armies – wearing no uniforms – will hide among innocent civilians in the highly-populated urban centers and wage war roadside bomb by roadside bomb, suicide bombing by suicide bombing so that thousands of civilians die. Because we respect the rules of war, we take great care to limit innocent civilian death. The terrorists use our honor against us.

In my judgment, to win this war, we need to temporarily adjust troop levels in Iraq – it is clear that when we have enough troops in an area, violence decreases and the Iraqi people are able to take over for themselves. The current plan simply is not working. We must do more.

There are 1.4 million Americans in uniform across the globe. There are 98,000 in Europe alone. We need to move some of these to temporarily get the right troop strength so we win in Iraq and then we can bring them all home. This requires a new plan to get the job done, and done well. And when something as important as this is at stake, I will speak truth to power and suggest that the Administration give us a new plan.

Nothing is more important for America’s long-term security and freedom than getting it right in Iraq and defeating Islamic Fascism. The President knows that. I know that. You know that.

Ed Perlmutter doesn’t. He supports John Murtha’s plan to cut and run from Iraq (“redeploy” is the politically correct word he uses). That is wrong and jeopardizes American security. The choice on national security in this election is clear. It is not about the status quo. It is a choice between a defeatist and retreatist mentality or adapting to win.