Rep. Mike Rogers: Blame Iraqis for failures, not Bush

By Scott Wright

In 2003, Congressman Mike Rogers voted to give President Bush permission to go to war with Iraq. Almost four years later, he admits that he understands the frustrations of a majority of Alabamians, who feel the war is going badly.

According to a poll conducted over the first 10 days of January by Dr. Gerald Johnson of the Capitol Research Survey Center, over 60 percent of residents feel the United States is losing the war (more poll results in Bob Ingram's column).

“People have a reason to feel that way,” Rogers said via telephone from the Capitol on Friday. “This has been difficult, and people are frustrated with the Iraqi government. They don't seem to be willing to take on the responsibility of making the decisions they have to in order to be successful.”

Most Alabamians, however, blame President Bush, not the Iraqi government, for the military's floundering fortunes in Iraq.

According to the same poll, 55 percent of Alabamians disapprove of the way the administration is handling the war in Iraq. The president has also received broad criticism both inside and outside Washington for his proposed solution to the stalemate in Iraq. On Jan. 10, Bush outlined a plan to send 21,500 additional troops into the fighting.

Rogers declined to criticize the president's plan. Instead, he stressed that success in Iraq now hinges on whether the Iraqi leadership will hold up its end of the bargain after the additional troops arrive.

“We have to question whether or not Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has the resolve to take responsibility and make tough decisions,” Rogers said. “They haven't done that to date.”

Rogers said there have already been a lot of positives to come out of President Bush's plan to spread democracy to the Middle East. He pointed out that Iraqis have held free elections and drawn up a constitution. But he admitted there is still a long way to go before anyone can claim there's stability in Iraq.

“The leadership there still has tough decisions to make about oil revenue sharing and whether or not to partition the country,” Rogers said. “They also have decisions to make about whether they're going to enforce the rule of law, and they don't seem to want to do that.”

Rogers said both the president and the Congress understand the American people are weary of the war and want it to end sooner, rather than later. But, he insisted again, it will be up to the Iraqis to determine how much success Bush's new war plan will ultimately bring to their country.

“Sec. of Defense (Robert) Gates and Gen. (Peter) Pace have told the president that if the Iraqis will allow them into every neighborhood to enforce the law, regardless of whose militia lives there, the reinforcements will make a difference,” Rogers said. “If their willingness to do that turns out to be a bunch of rhetoric, this will be another exercise in futility. That's why Sec. Gates said we'll know in 60 days if this plan is going to be successful.”

In October, Rogers told a local civic group, “We're close to the point where we can begin pulling back from Iraq.” Asked about those comments Friday, Rogers said he doesn't think he was being misled by the military and government leaders who "left him with that impression" last fall.

He reiterated his belief that the Iraqis are ultimately to blame for the death and destruction Americans see on their TV sets every day.

“Based on what the generals were telling us in committee meetings, I think they were really expecting a level of maturation among Iraqi leaders that did not develop,” Rogers said. “We've been hitting our training goals and have a lot of competent Iraqi soldiers and policemen on the streets. The problem is with their leadership -- I think we were all expecting a more mature and responsible government to evolve.”

The third-term congressman implied he has no intentions of adding his name to the list of detractors on both sides of the aisle who have been critical of the president's Iraq plan. Instead, he seconded the efforts of two of the president's biggest supporters -- GOP Sen. John McCain and Independent Sen. Joe Liebermann. He said their vocal calls of support for the president's plan are “what we all ought to be doing.”

“We've got troops in the field dying and families sacrificing. We need to make it clear to the enemy that we are in Iraq to win,” Rogers said. “No life is going to be lost for anything other than success, which will result in a safer country and a safer world. I think (McCain and Liebermann) are espousing that.”

Rogers said he agrees with the president's decision to ignore recommendations from the Iraq Study Group to initiate formal diplomatic contact with Iran and Syria, both neighbors of Iraq. He said there would be no point in such an effort.

“Anyone who's been paying attention knows those two countries won't help us as partners in solving this problem,” Rogers said. “They have every reason to want to see us continue to throw resources and be tied up in Iraq. If we left and Shiites began a mass genocide of Sunnis, then Iran would want to get involved, but right now they're happy.”

Besides, Rogers said, he believes he knows the real reason there was mention of engaging those countries in the ISG report.

“I feel there was a lot of politicking among the members of the commission,” Rogers said. “They were trying to create a unanimous, bi-partisan report and they had to put that in there.”

Rogers said he was glad to see Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld replaced, because he and many of his Capitol colleagues feel the U.S. armed forces are too small and need more manpower.

“The military was downsized by almost 50 percent under the Clinton administration and Sec. of Def. Rumsfeld resisted calls to increase troop strength, favoring instead a lighter, faster, smaller force,” Rogers said. “Sec. Gates said last week that he intends to ask for more 'end-strength,' which means more troops. We're going to be engaged in multiple theaters for a long time, fighting this war against terrorism. I told Sec. Gates in a hearing I was glad to hear his request.”

On Jan. 10, Gates announced his intentions to ask Congress for an increase of 92,000 troops over five years.

Rogers said he believes there's room for even more growth in the military if the government offers the right packages of incentives.

“I told the secretary I would like to see recommendations for even more dramatic growth, along with more information about the reserves,” Rogers said. “We're asking those in the armed forces and reserves to make a tremendous sacrifice and I think we need to increase their benefits, make it more attractive and recognize what that decision does to families. That needs to be reflected in their compensation.”