The following is post written exclusively for Connecticut Local Politics by Senator (and Presidential candidate) Chris Dodd (D-CT). Thanks to Senator Dodd for staying in touch despite a very busy schedule! -Gabe
First, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people behind Connecticut Local Politics for this chance to write to all of you. This is something new for me, and I look forward to continuing to check-in frequently with you all.
Today the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will be voting on a non-binding resolution on Iraq. I have not made any secret of my feelings that this resolution does not go far enough to address the concerns of the millions of Americans who disapprove of this war. This is the time for a real, meaningful action, not for a resolution which will not even make its way to the President’s desk.
That is why on January 16th, I introduced legislation limiting the President’s authority to escalate our current military involvement in Iraq by barring additional troop levels above those in Iraq on January 16, 2007. This legislation would require the President to seek a specific approval of Congress to send more troops, which I do not believe that the Congress would provide. This would allow us to begin a phased redeployment of our forces within and out of Iraq.
Leadership demands that I and others who think the President is on the wrong track not simply stand up and say so, but act to stop it from occurring. I ask that you join me in voicing your opinions on this conflict. The time for idle talk and noncommittal statements has passed. It is time for Congress to act. If Members of Congress oppose an escalation in Iraq, as I do, then they should vote for my bill. If they think the President is on the right track then they should oppose the bill. But either way the American people should know where their representatives stand on this important issue.
This is an issue I feel very strongly about. It is something that affects each and every one of us. We have all been touched in some way by the sacrifice our young men and women have given, and continue to give, fighting for our country. I ask that your thoughts and prayers go out to them and their families.
I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to write to you today and I look forward to reading your thoughts and comments.
12 responses so far ↓
Welcome Senator Dodd and thanks for taking the time to chat with us!
First of all thanks to Senator Dodd for posting.
Does anyone know how much support there is for Dodd’s resolution as opposed to the non-binding one?
Thank you, Senator, for reaching out to our community. I’d be interested to know where the rest of Connecticut’s congressional delegation stands on Sen. Dodd’s bill.
Your efforts against our commander-in-chief and your efforts against John Bolton make it obvious that you are not familiar with the people in the world who wish for the demise of the USA.
Hussein_Obama
Senator,
As someone with a passing familiarity with our nation’s military, I wish you success on your efforts to affect what is happening in Iraq. There is a great deal to be said for actually trying to do something rather than simply mouthing platitudes. I have a great deal of respect for what you are seeking to accomplish.
The president’s ill-conceived policy regarding Iraq has steadily reduced our security and ability to defend ourselves, rather than improving it. The meatgrinder of this pointless occupation has steadily worn away what was only a few years ago the finest and best trained field army in the world. And the current “new plan” to add more troops is a farce–the people in Iraq who it is directed against have stated that they will only “lay low” until the American “surge” ebbs away.
Meanwhile, it is not even accurate to call what President is trying to do a troop increase–or even an escalation–as only a portion of the number is made up of fresh units being newly deployed. Far too much of the surge consists of assets already in country, including a substantial percentage of National Guard personnel, who are having their deployments extended by a number of months. This will only serve to further wear down people and equipment, without generating any appreciable or useful result, other than to make us look even more foolish and ineffective in the eyes of those in the world who do not wish us well.
Poster number 4, while obviously poorly informed and thoughtless–is correct that there are people who in this world who hope for the demise of the USA. They are, however, not necessarily the people who that poster is thinking of. This President–and the unprincipled and ignorant few who continue to support him in this ill-advised adventure–have made us far less safe by pouring too many assets into the wrong fight, and doing damage to our military institutions that will take years to repair. Mr. Bush’s mistakes have not only created fresh problems within the context of militant religious and cultural extremists, but even more so with regards to the other more serious and subtle threats that are developing. Thanks to what the President is doing, we are far less prepared to deal with a wide range of threats and situations, and will continue to be in that condition for some time to come. Please do your best to stop him.
Hon. Sen. Dodd -
Thank you for your involvement in the blogosphere. I saw that you also liveblogged over at FireDogLake, and while I appreciate your efforts online, however, I must urge you to take further, more progressive steps to steer the American ship of the state onto a more just course.
As someone who is caught in the middle of the overzealous security state right now, I am deeply concerned about the war, the militarization of our society, the widening gap between rich and poor and the unchecked black hole of money and power in media and politics.
First, I do not think that merely voting against escalation is the appropriate tack. We need immediate withdrawal. It is clear that American presence in Iraq only escalates the violence. As you know, based on your father’s prosecution at the Nuremburg Trials, the United States violated international law when we invaded the soveriegn state of Iraq. We have no business being there, and we must withdraw immediately. I would like to know what it will take for you to espouse that position, and beyond that, consider retributions for American breach of global codes of conduct.
Additionally, the runaway military budget in the United States must be cut, and that spending shifted to peacetime infrastructural projects. For us not to realize that people want to kill us because we wantonly kill for our corporate foriegn policy interests smacks of hubris and arrogance. In order to prevent such aggressive extralegal military adventures outside our borders, we must limit the influence and role of the military and military contractors in the future. I am interested in understanding what measures you would take to cut funding to the Pentagon and to promote domestic spending programs.
Last Friday, you had a presidential rally here in Hartford, and I am told that it featured a heated tent with tuxedoed butlers. Considering that this is one of the poorest cities in Connecticut, I was aggravated to hear of such an excessive display of wealth. When I combine that with Hillary Clinton’s announcement that she will likely eschew public funding for the upcoming presidential race, and the prognosis by the New York Times that the next presidential race will probably cost almost $1 billion, I am frustrated by the lack of leadership among politicians to reduce the influence of money in power. What will you do to ensure that normal people who lack liquid assets to contribute to campaigns are represented in the political process?
Though I am heartened to see that you are participating in the blogosophere, I am certain that the corporate media will receive the lion’s share of that $1 billion in presidential campaign funds, and thus it will continue its domination of the news cycle, and thus democratic discourse. I am curious then what you think of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ speech last week at the media reform conference in Tennessee calling for transformation of media rules to discourage concentration of multiple media outlets in few hands, and to encourage democratization of information technologies.
While these concerns may sound naive or idealistic, I am certain that until at least these four issues are approached honestly and with a long term look towards human rights, we have a democracy in name only, and true freedom remains but a promise, a blank check that we have to fight to cash, a spot on the horizon that we are not even steering towards. And we must change that. I look forward to your response.
Yours in Peace,
Ken Krayeske
ken@the40yearplan.com
Senator Dodd:
Thank you for posting at this website and for introducing your legislation.
I would like to share with you the personal impact of this “surge.”
I have a relative in the 1/34 Combat Brigade of the Minnesota National Guard. They deployed in March of last year and were scheduled to return this March. Just hours after Bush’s speech, the Pentagon leaked word that their tour would be indefinitely extended. Families here in the US learned of this extension before the soldiers themselves. Officially, this extension has been clarified as “up to 125 days,” which would give them a tour of duty in Iraq of 16 months. Unofficially, the soldiers have been told this is an indefinite extension. With the military no longer placing a cap on active duty, they could be there for as long as the Pentagon and George Bush want them to stay.
The 1/34 has been particularly “surged” by President Bush’s latest plan. A 16 month tour places it as possibly the longest continuously serving unit (Marines, in contrast, deploy for 7 month tours, shorter, but more frequent). They are also the only unit in the “surge” that has had its tour extended - most other units are simply deploying early.
My cousin emailed and called home after learning of his extension: I would like to pass on what he said, albeit cleaned up for polite company:
We must stop this escalation.
Thanks for your time.
Senator Dodd,
Thank you for your comments. Please keep continuing to do what you can in the Senate to serve as a check on the executive’s military occupation of Iraq which we now know was based on faulty information. America has had enough of foreign interventionism at the cost of our own national security.
I was not thrilled last week to hear SOTS Rice say that if the USA talked with Syria or iran it would be as a “supplicant” in her words. Talk is cheap and sometimes productive as we know form past history with former SOTS James Baker and his many visits to Syria before striking a deal. I beleive that regardless of how we proceed militarily in Iraq that the US must engage the neighbors diplomatically and that can be doen form a position of strength not weakness as the SOTS suggests.
As a bystanding American citizen who beleives the US rushed to war in Iraq possibly without the need to, I was also willing to hear out how Gen. Petraeus planned to execute the new strategy in Iraq as your colleague Senator Lindsey Graham of SC requested last week. I did that briefly yesterday when I listened to General Petraeus speak before the Senate Armed Services Committee. I got a very queasy feeling in my stomach when the General indicated he had been gone from Iraq for 16 months now and that he had some on the ground assesssments to do before being certain about how he would proceed. He also seemed to indicate that the troops he would be provided to support the new counter insurgency strategy were not optimal but he’d work the probelem . The General was honest and straightforward and no doubt he will do everything in his power to work the problem in Iraq but I am not convinced that short of a miracle he can succeed particularly with our attitude towards the neighboring countries. While I beleive it wrong to tie the hands of our Commander-in-Chief with caps on troop levels, funding and the like I have been heartened by the joint proposal by Sens Biden andHagel as well as Senator John Warner’s efforts. I was even a little surprised to hear Rep Boehner call for strict benchmarks much like Senator Warner. In short, I disagree with your proposed legislation but I appreciate your bringing the issue to a greater debate in the Congress.
Senator Dodd,
I agree that placing a cap on the troop levels in Iraq is an important step towards curtailing this Administration’s conduct. But even more important is placing fiscal restraints on the White House’s future plans for escalation, and more to the point, to place restraints on what they can do with the forces already there. That means returning sane usage to the men and their equipment, that means no more six-month turnaround between tours of duty, that means more money for maintenance of equipment. That means treating our military like the fine institution it is rather than the political football it’s been used as.
This is a good first step. I hope it is more than symbolic, and that it represents the first of many actions your party’s new majority in Congress will allow us to take as steps towards ending the war-without-end fantasy of the White House.
Senator Dodd,
I will be the first to admit that my knowledge in this entire matter is lacking. I do however know the world has become a far more dangerous place year after year, and I am very concerned.
There was a time when we could afford partisan party politics. But at this point we can no longer afford to play those games. We need our leaders to honestly put what is best for them, and their party second, to what is only best for our country. In saying that I ask that you please keep that first and foremost in your mind, as you begin your campaign for President.
As to the issue of this war… I was wondering…. So many of our elected officials who voted to support our President in this matter a few years ago now say they were mistaken to do so….
It is one thing to make a mistake on a high school math test that can be fixed with an eraser. It is totally another matter when the human lives of the best and bravest Americans are at stake… What are your ideas to improve our intelligence so mistakes like this one can never happen again? Al
Sen Dodd ,
I salute you for taking this bold step and wish succeaa in the race for White House
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