Open Letter to Congressman Miller
I recently moved away from NW Florida, but I still get email updates from Congressman Jeff Miller. Today I got the below message from him. It irked me, so the message below his is my open response to the gentleman.
From: “millernewsletter@mail.house.gov”
Subject: Miller Message - May 1, 2007
Last week, Army General David Petraeus personally briefed any interested Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate on current operations in Iraq . General Petraeus is responsible for all military forces in Iraq, and is implementing the new plan to secure Baghdad and the rest of the country. The brief was a Members only brief given at the highest possible security classification in order to give us better insight into what specifically is going on in Iraq.
Soon after giving the brief, the General prepared to return to Iraq . I am personally grateful he traveled to Washington from the war zone to discuss these important issues with myself and other elected officials.
Due to the classification of the material, I am not able to get into specifics but I would like to address some general issues about his brief and also discuss some troubling events that surrounded his trip from Iraq to Washington . The General was not biased in his assessment, but stated the facts. He also let the Congress know that the current surge will buy us time but is not the only solution.
I commend my nearly 220 colleagues who attended the brief, but I must express my strong disappointment and surprise at the Speaker of the House. It was widely reported that Nancy Pelosi initially declined to even meet with General Petraeus and that her office along with the Democratic leadership of the House Armed Services Committee, of which I am a Member also, initially declined to even allow the General to speak to the House of Representatives. They allegedly stated they were too busy.
It was only after intense public criticism due to the reported refusal to meet with the General that the House meeting was reluctantly scheduled by Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic allies. Adding insult to injury, Nancy Pelosi and her allies then scheduled a series of votes at the exact time General Petraeus was to be speaking to Members of Congress. Once again, only after public criticism and media attention did the scheduled votes mysteriously get suspended.
Our national security, our nation’s General Officers and our military are too valuable to be used for political gamesmanship. I understand that some in the opposing party believe their standing will continue to increase with every American killed in Iraq and therefore welcome continued chaos and in fact passed judgment on the brief General Petraeus gave before he gave it and in some cases, did not even attend. I will not support such a defeatist position and will continue to keep you informed of the facts as I know them.
My response:
Sir,
From your above email: “I… will continue to keep you informed of the facts as I know them.”
The only facts you have relayed here are that the democrats are playing political games, and that the rising death toll in Iraq is only buying us time. Well, what are we doing with this expensive time? I realize that we (your electorate) aren’t important enough to know the details, but is there progress being made? If everyone (including General Petraeus) thinks this war can not be won solely with the military, what do you propose we change about our strategy?
While I certainly don’t agree that bringing the troops home tomorrow is a good idea, I also don’t believe that Congress should hand an infinite number of blank checks to the Executive Branch. Your job is to provide oversight. You should be scrutinizing the President’s plans and spending. If you disagree with the Democrats, and you agree that the war cannot be won with the military alone, how do you propose we proceed?
You are whining about the Democrats playing political games, but what was your purpose in sending this message? You didn’t relay any novel information, so it seems to me that you are playing a political game of your own (the tattle tail game). The Democrats are doing their best to represent those who elected them. That is their job. You have the same job with constituents of a different mind, but instead of doing your job you have decided to “keep [us] informed of the facts as [you] know them.” If you want to keep me informed, become a journalist. If you want to represent us then keep us posted on what you are doing to represent us.
Respectfully,
James O’Loughlin