Given your interest in Iraq, I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you my observations about the latest developments in that country and the region.

I recently returned from my fifth visit to Iraq. As always, I was deeply impressed with the incredible sacrifices Minnesotans in uniform are making there every day. They should make us all very proud.

While in Iraq from January 4-6, I participated in wide ranging discussions with military commanders, diplomats, and senior Iraqi political officials concerning the role of the U.S. in Iraq and the necessary steps the Iraqi government must take toward reconciliation. We have a lot of important decisions to make in the next six months about our military presence in Iraq. General Petraeus has already said that we could reduce our troop presence to pre-surge troop levels by early summer, and we need to look at the longer term as we get close to that time period.

The main message I took away from my time in Iraq is that tangible progress was made during 2007. Violence and casualties are decreasing. The Iraqi government, along with Iraqi citizens, are taking more responsibility for their future and hope is returning to the shattered country.

I also spoke with a number of Minnesotans during my visit. One of them, a soldier from Prior Lake, said something that really stayed with me. He said, "Everybody thinks I fight all day over here. But I help kids, I build roads, I spend time with Iraqis. I'm more of a social worker or construction manager than anything." A year or two ago, it would have been hard to imagine a soldier in Iraq describing his day to day operations as "social work" instead of combat.

2007 ended with hope in a country that hasn't had it in a long time - and I believe 2008 can and should end with the U.S. military moving toward a secondary, "overwatch" role. The security gains we have made as a result of the surge have laid the groundwork for Iraqis to step into the leadership role required of them. We need to continue to push them in that direction as we move off the front lines and into supporting responsibilities.

Of course, we are still confronted by many great challenges in Iraq. The message I delivered to the top Iraqi leaders I met with was that America has opened a door of opportunity that Iraq must walk through - and they need to do so with a sense of urgency. I told them our willingness to fight al Qaeda will never weaken, but that our willingness to serve as referees between warring sectarian factions has come to an end. I firmly believe that the U.S. needs to continue to hold Iraqi political leaders accountable to specific benchmarks for success towards political reconciliation.

I continue to believe that decisions about troop levels must be made based on input from our commanders on the ground and our troops in the field. But I also believe that Americans need to be assured that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that our current level of commitment in Iraq is not permanent. An important policy area I discussed on this trip was a long term agreement between our two countries on the status of our presence there. President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki agreed in November to work out a bilateral agreement on our forces in Iraq by July of 2008. This will be an extremely important agreement that will determine our force structure for years to come. As a U.S. Senator, I expect to be fully consulted and fully engaged as we move forward with a new agreement on U.S. forces in Iraq.

I am convinced that the United States will have a long term presence in the region - a fact recognized by people on both sides of the aisle. But this is not a struggle we can complete on our own. It will require the commitment of Iraq's neighbors and the United Nations to a constructive future for this fledgling government and its people. To accomplish our long term goals, we need a surge in diplomacy in Iraq and in the region. We must work with Sunni Arab nations like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates which have an important role to play in the fight against Al Qaeda.

What is clear is that we need to provide our troops on the ground with the resources they need to defend themselves. It is unfortunate that some insist on conditioning critical funding for our forces on arbitrary withdrawal timelines that would handcuff our generals and embolden our enemies. While I agree we need to continue to pressure the Iraqi government to move toward reconciliation, we also need to provide our military leaders with the tools they need to implement this strategy.

At the end of the day, the most striking thing about a visit to Iraq is the courage, skill, and patriotism of our soldiers. I call on all Minnesotans to rededicate ourselves to supporting them and their families before, during, and after their deployments.

Again, thank you for your interest in this critical issue.

Sincerely,
Norm Coleman
United States Senate