Kennedy "Half Right" in His Call to Bring Home Troops, Professor Says

When U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., called Thursday for President Bush to immediately start bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq -- claiming "the U.S. military presence has become part of the problem, not part of the solution" -- the senator was "half right" in his assessment, says a Duke University professor.

"That is, our highly visible military presence is part of the problem -- a constant reminder to Iraqis that their country is occupied and they are not yet in control," said Ted Triebel, a visiting lecturer at Duke's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. "Yet Kennedy gets it wrong saying U.S. military forces are not part of the solution."

Triebel, who served in the Pentagon as a national security policy officer, said U.S. forces are badly needed to get new Iraqi military and police properly trained and equipped.

"Our forces are also needed to provide assistance to the newly trained Iraqis while they transition from crawling, to walking, to operating independently. There is no 'solution' in Iraq if the insurgents, of whatever stripe, are able to daily target and murder innocents with impunity. Having the U.S. military pull out now will not stop the wave of killings sponsored by al-Zarqawi and his ilk."

Having some form of democratic and stable society hinges on the ability of Iraqis to cobble together a government that has reasonable support across religious and ethnic lines, Triebel added. "Elections on Sunday, flawed as they may be, are a tentative beginning. The coming months will require noticeable improvements in security throughout the country as a new constitution is written and Iraqis take actual control of their country."

During this transition, U.S. forces "will need to shrink their footprint" -- become less visible -- but still be active in their primary role of training and assisting," said Triebel, a former Navy fighter pilot with extensive combat experience in Vietnam.

"We should begin pulling out our troops as this transition takes place, which is what many Iraqi leaders are saying in private. While firm timetables are counterproductive, drawdown of our troops should certainly be able to begin this year and accelerate as Iraqis take on the responsibilities of providing security for themselves."

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