Thursday, October 27, 2005

Congressman Ford Discusses Iraq On Fox's Dayside

Congressman Ford appeared on Fox's Dayside on Wednesday. I only caught the tail end of the interview, but here is what I gathered from the interview.

When talking about the war in Iraq, Congressman Ford said he would do two things.

First off, he said he would do what President Bush really hasn't done and level with the American people. He would tell the country 'this is going to be hard.'

Ford went on to say that Iraq presently only has one standing battalion out of about a hundred that need to be trained so they can defend themselves. He pointed out that when he visited Iraq over Memorial Day this year, Iraq had three standing battalions but now only have the one.

Ford also emphasized that the American people need to understand we may need more troops to help train the police and military forces in Iraq.

Secondly, the Congressman said we may need to create a fund to help the Iraqis restore the infrastructure throughout their country. Ford said that until we do that, he doubts that we will be able to win the hearts and minds of the people of Iraq.

Ford ended by saying that we should be honest and admit that it is the insurgent activity that represents the number one hindrance of stability and establishment of democracy in Iraq.

To read more about Congressman Ford's view on Iraq, visit these links (1, 2).