Applause for Sen. Lugar’s Candidness (Rep. Baron Hill)

As the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the senior senator from Indiana, Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) is deservedly a well-respected voice on foreign affairs issues.  And, as such, I appreciate his candidness about the current situation we face in Iraq.

Senator Lugar and I agree entirely on one important point: that our troops have performed magnificently in Iraq.  But, Senator Lugar presents an interesting and difficult point: have we asked our troops – the best-trained soldiers in the world – to perform a task that is impossible to complete?  We need to take a hard look at both this question and the answer.  We owe our troops that.

Senator Lugar also presents another troubling argument in that he does not believe the Iraqi leadership is capable, at any point, of sustaining a stable democracy in Iraq.  As I have said all along, the Iraqi people must step up to the plate and take control of their own country, and I am pleased that a voice as strong as Senator Lugar’s is echoing that point.  They must want to do it themselves, and they must have the will to do it.  We cannot do it for them.

I personally believe that the way to require the Iraqis to demonstrate that real progress is being made is to establish firm benchmarks and deadlines that they must meet.  While Senator Lugar and I disagree on this point, I very much respect his analysis of the situation in Iraq and his commitment to acting in the best interest of our country and all Hoosiers.