thedrifter
01-15-07, 02:42 PM
Most unhappy: Coleman lashes out over family notification
By Susan M.A. Larson
Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman’s concern over President Bush’s call for a troop surge is magnified by its impact on Minnesota’s soldiers in Iraq and their families.
“I am extremely disappointed by the news that Minnesota’s National Guard soldiers in Iraq will have their tour of duty extended,” Coleman said Thursday in a teleconference with the state’s media. “When I visited them in Iraq (in mid-December), they were excited about coming home in March. At a time when our troops and their families are making the ultimate committment to serve our country and defend freedom, they deserve better than to be told only a short time before their scheduled return that their IMPACT
service is being extended. I was very upset with the way the families were notified. To have to find out from the television is insensitive.”
Coleman has heard but can not confirm Minnesota’s tour has been extended to July.
“We need answers,” he said. “I want a firm date and a better process of notifying families. Is our mission over there going to be changing? We need to know.”
Sending more troops could have its place under the right circumstances, Coleman said.
“In Anbar province, some tribal leaders have banded together to combat al-Qaeda. The Marines made a strong case that a troop increase in Anbar would expand their ability to combat the insurgency. But I do not support the president’s plan to provide a troop surge in Baghdad. Our solidiers shouldn’t have to sacrifice their lives for the Sunni-Shiite conflict.”
Before sending more troops, Coleman said, there needs to be Sunni reconcilliation.
“We’ve diminished the foreign fighting, but the challenge is to hold on to the strides that have been made,” he said. “We need more Sunni soldiers and more Sunni police to get involved, but we won’t get Sunni participation until there is Sunni reconcilliation. To bring in more American soldiers could make a difference, but even that can’t work without reconcilliation. That needs to happen first. When I was in Iraq, Deputy Prime Minister Bahram Salah expressed the need to push aside the radicals on both sides (Sunni and Shiite) and move forward with reconciliation.”
Coleman also called on other countries to step up.
“We need to bring others into this. We can’t do it alone. Saudi Arabia and other countries have a stake in this too; We need those countries to help.”
“I am not siding with Democrat leaders,” Coleman said yesterday when a reporter intimated he was doing so. “My position is I do not support a surge of troops to Bahgdad when Iraq has not demonstrated a commitment to ending sectarian violence. Let’s put the politics behind us on this subject. This is the battle of our time. We cannot lose the battle against terrorism ... We need to bring the troops home sooner and leave a stable Iraq in its place. Withdrawing today will not do it. Cutting off funding to our troops will not do it and I don’t think a surge will do it. We have to find another path.”
Ellie
By Susan M.A. Larson
Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman’s concern over President Bush’s call for a troop surge is magnified by its impact on Minnesota’s soldiers in Iraq and their families.
“I am extremely disappointed by the news that Minnesota’s National Guard soldiers in Iraq will have their tour of duty extended,” Coleman said Thursday in a teleconference with the state’s media. “When I visited them in Iraq (in mid-December), they were excited about coming home in March. At a time when our troops and their families are making the ultimate committment to serve our country and defend freedom, they deserve better than to be told only a short time before their scheduled return that their IMPACT
service is being extended. I was very upset with the way the families were notified. To have to find out from the television is insensitive.”
Coleman has heard but can not confirm Minnesota’s tour has been extended to July.
“We need answers,” he said. “I want a firm date and a better process of notifying families. Is our mission over there going to be changing? We need to know.”
Sending more troops could have its place under the right circumstances, Coleman said.
“In Anbar province, some tribal leaders have banded together to combat al-Qaeda. The Marines made a strong case that a troop increase in Anbar would expand their ability to combat the insurgency. But I do not support the president’s plan to provide a troop surge in Baghdad. Our solidiers shouldn’t have to sacrifice their lives for the Sunni-Shiite conflict.”
Before sending more troops, Coleman said, there needs to be Sunni reconcilliation.
“We’ve diminished the foreign fighting, but the challenge is to hold on to the strides that have been made,” he said. “We need more Sunni soldiers and more Sunni police to get involved, but we won’t get Sunni participation until there is Sunni reconcilliation. To bring in more American soldiers could make a difference, but even that can’t work without reconcilliation. That needs to happen first. When I was in Iraq, Deputy Prime Minister Bahram Salah expressed the need to push aside the radicals on both sides (Sunni and Shiite) and move forward with reconciliation.”
Coleman also called on other countries to step up.
“We need to bring others into this. We can’t do it alone. Saudi Arabia and other countries have a stake in this too; We need those countries to help.”
“I am not siding with Democrat leaders,” Coleman said yesterday when a reporter intimated he was doing so. “My position is I do not support a surge of troops to Bahgdad when Iraq has not demonstrated a commitment to ending sectarian violence. Let’s put the politics behind us on this subject. This is the battle of our time. We cannot lose the battle against terrorism ... We need to bring the troops home sooner and leave a stable Iraq in its place. Withdrawing today will not do it. Cutting off funding to our troops will not do it and I don’t think a surge will do it. We have to find another path.”
Ellie