Six Questions for Senator Edward Kennedy on the Iraq “Civil War”

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Six Questions for Senator Edward Kennedy on the Iraq “Civil War” and the Democrats

By Ken Silverstein.
SourcesSenator Edward Kennedy has served in the Senate for more than forty years and is a longstanding leader of the Democratic Party's dwindling liberal wing. Earlier this month, the Senate passed an amendment, which had been proposed by Kennedy, that requires the Bush Administration to prepare a new National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq. The Senator recently agreed to answer a series of questions about Iraq and the state of the Democratic Party, but his office proposed that it be done by email because of his busy schedule. I agreed on the condition that the Senator—not his press office—write the replies. Kennedy was forthright in criticizing the administration's policies in Iraq; he was less so in responding to questions about his own party, where his replies were disappointingly vague and formulaic.

1. Do you believe Iraq is in a state of civil war? And what is your position as to whether American troops should be withdrawn from the country?

At every step of the way, the administration has misunderstood what’s going on in Iraq. They missed the threat of the insurgency. They missed the need to provide armor for our troops. They missed the increasing threat posed by improvised explosive devices. They missed the terrible cost to America’s reputation from our practices at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere. And now they are missing the fact there is civil war in Iraq. This refusal to accept the reality of the situation in Iraq has led the administration into a “stay the course” approach in Iraq that is a terrible mistake. I voted against the war, and I consider it my best vote. More than a year ago, I said the best strategy for success in Iraq was to set clear goals for reducing our troop presence there. I believed then, as I believe now, that a substantial American military presence serves as a crutch to the Iraqi government and inflames the conflict. If we want the Iraqi government to succeed, they need to take responsibility for their future. The alternative is escalating violence, with American troops caught in a crossfire between warring factions.

2. The war in Iraq began more than three years ago, and no evidence has emerged that Saddam Hussein's regime had WMDs or that Hussein had operational ties to Al Qaeda. Did President Bush and other administration officials lie to the American public in making the case for the war in Iraq, or did they believe their arguments?

The administration wanted to invade Iraq, and they put a spin on the available intelligence to justify their policy. Now that their arguments for the war have been proved untrue, they have a special responsibility to be candid about the challenges we face and to be open to the need to change course. Instead, this administration has continued to hide the truth about the facts in Iraq and to mischaracterize and vilify those who propose a way to achieve success in Iraq.

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