Lady Sentinels

Interview from Doug Richardson, Lakewood Mayor on the the Iraq war

1. Do you think the troops should be pulled from Iraq?

No, I don’t believe that our troops should be pulled from Iraq without establishing conditions on the ground that permit a withdrawal. Those conditions include Iraqi Security Forces able to successfully conduct counter-insurgency operations in Iraq and establish order in the neighborhoods. Additionally, the Iraqi government must overcome the factional (Sunni/Shia/Kurdish) fighting and establish a stable government.

2. Which of the Presidential candidates (one democrat and one republican) do you think would be the best at dealing with Iraq and why?

Senator McCain has consistently called for more troops on the ground in Iraq since the war began in 2003. He supported the change in strategy which resulted in “the surge” to place additional forces in neighborhoods to work with Iraqi citizens to defeat Al Qaeda in Iraq. The result has been a reduction in sectarian violence and a reduction on the number of attacks on Coalition Forces. Senator McCain has consistently told people that Iraq may be bad but a defeat there would be far worse.

Nearly all of the Democratic candidates for President have taken a position in opposition to the war because it is essential for them to retain their base of support, which disproportionately supports immediate withdrawal from Iraq. Their calls for withdrawal of American Forces have signaled the government in Baghdad that the U.S. will not stay there indefinitely. Should one of these candidates be elected they will have to deal with the reality that our departure from Iraq will most likely take 36 months to be accomplished.

3. What do you think are the main reasons why Iraq's independence from the US is going so slowly? Or, if you disagree with this statement, why?

The weakness of the central government is probably the single greatest challenge to be overcome. Many of the milestones that have been established, such as agreement on the sharing of oil revenue, have not been met. Mr. Malaki really does not have a power base in Iraq that is loyal to him and the people doubt whether their government can bring and end to the violence and provide essential services.

posted by APGovproject @ 6:56 AM