Iraq: A Strategy for Progress

Iraq: A Strategy for Progress • Executive Summary • Introduction • The Strategy • On the Home Front • Download Report: PDF

This strategy represents a marked departure from the Administration's policies to date. If the President is truly committed to getting things right in Iraq, he must level with the American people about the long- term risks and commitments required to successfully manage the changes he has put in motion in Iraq. Failure to tell the truth to the American people will only serve to erode support in the months and years ahead – at the cost of our security and Iraq's stability. To secure both the necessary financial resources and critical public support, the President should take the following steps.

Beginning in FY06, funding for military operations in Iraq and elsewhere should be incorporated into the regular budget cycle. There is little justification for funding operations and reconstruction through supplemental appropriations alone. Supplemental requests should be used only when truly unanticipated requirements emerge or the pace of activity rises to unexpected levels. The military is now planning multi-year troop rotations and has sufficient experience to project repair/replenishment rates on equipment and supplies.

Send the FY05 supplemental budget request to Congress now. A supplemental for the remainder of FY04 and FY05 will be necessary to ensure that there is no gap in funding for critical defense and other programs. Similar steps should be taken with respect to the budgets for the Treasury and State Departments. Special attention should be paid to procuring the necessary protective equipment for troops, fixing their compensation problems, and providing them with meaningful benefits, and to increasing the size of the army and providing aid packages to support international partners.

Announce the roll-back of tax-cuts on those making more than $200,000 to finance the significant economic and military costs that will be incurred. The President should deliver a major Presidential address to acknowledge the mistakes that have been made, outline the requirements ahead, and inform the American people of what is required to actually achieve lasting stability in Iraq and prevent it from becoming a significant threat to U.S. security. He must make clear how many troops are needed, for how long and at what cost.

Actively seek bipartisan congressional consultation and support. The President should meet monthly with the bi-partisan congressional leadership, relevant committee chairs, and ranking members. This step should re-establish necessary avenues of communication and enable the executive and legislative branches to work toward establishing a unified bi-partisan consensus for national action on Iraq. This group should designate an observer delegation to the President's emergency International Summit on Iraq. Congress should exercise its responsibility to engage in the conduct of meaningful oversight hearings to address ongoing security, political and reconstruction challenges.