Mike Ciresi: Enough on the ad; let's debate Iraq policy

Petraeus shouldn't have been attacked, but we need to focus on a new direction.

By Mike Ciresi

Last update: September 28, 2007 - 5:48 PM

Last week, Sen. Norm Coleman challenged me and Al Franken to condemn MoveOn.org's advertisement regarding Gen. David Petraeus. Franken responded by stating that the Senate's resolution was "ridiculous." Coleman furthered the name-calling by responding with a paid political advertisement. I believe that as long as our brave men and women are getting wounded and are dying in Iraq for the Bush administration's mistaken policy -- a policy fully endorsed by Coleman -- a different response is required.

Immediately following the general's testimony on Sept. 11, I said he should receive the gratitude of the nation for his service. Attacks on his veracity and patriotism have no place in the critical debate that Congress must have on Iraq. There never has been any question of our ability to achieve the "military objective" of dampening down violence as a result of our troop surge. Indeed, the nation's resolve in going after terrorists is an objective supported by all Americans.

However, the essential question that needs to be asked is whether the administration's Iraq policy is in the best interest of the nation. I believe it is not. This war has led to the further destabilization of the Middle East, and that has made the world less safe. The war has created a training ground for terrorists who are exporting their terrorism beyond Iraq. The policy is bankrupt and constitutes a betrayal of trust by civilian leadership.

We must change direction. Establishing a new course is neither abandoning our friends nor cutting and running. Despite ever-changing objectives by Bush of what he wants to achieve in Iraq, one truth remains immutable: There has been no manifestation of political will by Iraqi leaders to accept the responsibility for establishing a national government. The longer we delay in setting forth a new direction, the more blood that will be shed and the more of our treasury we will squander.

Any course of action in Iraq is fraught with difficulty and unforeseen consequences. Petraeus says that sectarian competition "is inevitable" within Iraq. I agree, but I believe that competition has the best chance of a relatively favorable outcome if America is leading in peace and not in war. My long-stated plan offers that new direction:

•Support a comprehensive surge in diplomacy and the convening of an international peace conference under the auspices of the U.N. Security Council that should involve all regional governments.

•Establish a plan for withdrawing our troops from the civil war within a given time period.

•Redeploy our troops with an emphasis on combating terrorism, training Iraqis and protecting Iraqi borders.

•Calibrate the reorientation of our troops with a concomitant obligation by the Iraqi government to meet the economic and political benchmarks that they established and agreed to.

We need leaders in Congress who have the judgment, courage and leadership to establish a coherent policy and move the country in the right direction. We must once again lead with moral might and not just our military might. It is time for Franken and Coleman to take explicit, firm positions about their plans to bring our troops home and about their visions for fostering stability and peace in the Middle East. Let's debate policies that affect people's lives and our nation's future -- not advertisements.

Mike Ciresi, an attorney, is seeking the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate.

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