As Congress debates the Iraq war resolution, one Wisconsin congressman says he, too, has grave concerns about the conduct of this war, but hind sight is 20/20.
U.S. Representative Paul Ryan urges a no vote, saying it's the right debate to have, but the wrong resolution to pass. The Janesville Republican says this is the most important issue facing our country, and facing the world. Ryan admits he doesn't know whether the current war strategy will work, but he does have confidence in the troops. His doubts lie with the Iraqi government.
"Will the Iraqi government do what we are asking them to do? Will the Iraqi government do what is needed to do to hold up their end of the bargain? I don't know."
He doesn't know what to expect from the Iraqi troops, but Ryan does know for sure that this resolution is the wrong thing to do for our troops. He says passing the resolution while our troops are fighting would be a slap in their faces. Ryan says anyone lacking confidence in this strategy shouldn't simply vote for the resolution, without presenting a better plan and taking into consideration the consequences of failure.
"We have to accept and know that if we just pull out we will have sectarian genocide. We will have a safe haven for terrorists with oil money. We will have a Middle East power struggle that will be very, very ugly where countries that are very hostile to us — like Iran and Syria — will have the run of the region."
Congress is scheduled to vote on Friday for the non-binding resolution that criticizes President George Bush's plan to send 20,000 additional troops to Iraq.