Pearce disagrees with Domenici on Iraq

In response to news that U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., supports changing America’s mission in Iraq, GOP Rep. Steve Pearce said he believes “battlefield assessments are best made by the generals and commanders in the field.”

In the past, Pearce has been one of the strongest backers of President Bush’s Iraq strategy, supporting his controversial troop surge and opposing any timetable for withdrawal. In the statement released today, Pearce gave no indication that he has changed his mind.

“I appreciate and respect Senator Domenici’s leadership for New Mexico and know that he must have weighed the issues and come to this decision carefully,” Pearce said. “… Though we may differ on some issues, Senator Domenici’s leadership and devotion for New Mexico has been steadfast.”

Domenici announced Thursday that he is cosponsoring legislation that would call for the implementation of many of the Iraq Study Group recommendations, including a plan to move all American troops out of combat missions – and move many troops out of Iraq altogether – by March 2008. He said he made the decision because the Iraqi government is failing to meet benchmarks that were to accompany the troop surge, but said he does not support an immediate withdrawal or cuts in funding for troops.

Domenici also said he had been urged by the parents of fallen soldiers to help change America’s strategy in Iraq.

Pearce said he is also committed to ensuring troops “receive proper funding,” and said he understands “the tremendous sense of anguish (parents of fallen soldiers) feel and the heavy burden they bear.”

“But I remember the tremendous sense of loss we all felt when we were attacked on 9/11, our outrage when we heard of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center and the horror we felt as we witnessed the second plane hit the second tower,” he said.

“We should not forget that changing strategies also comes with risks,” Pearce said. “The terrorists we fight in Iraq and around the world have openly announced their 100-year plan to attack America and her allies.”

Pearce said the United States “should make all national-security decisions with this in mind.”

“We must ask whether a withdrawal from Iraq will make us more secure or only force us to return at a later date to fight the same enemy, or worse, fight them here in our streets,” he said.

“We owe it to our troops to give them our full support,” Pearce said. “I know I will continue to work with Senator Domenici to ensure they receive the necessary funding and equipment they need.”

Domenici’s shift has drawn national attention. He was the focus of the lead articles today in the New York Times and Washington Post.

Update, 1:05 p.m.

Leland Lehrman, one of three Democrats vying for the right to take on Domenici next year, released this statement today:

“Senator Domenici’s recent change of position on the Iraq war is welcome, if long overdue. His plan to redeploy troops elsewhere in the region represents no change in the moral tenor of Domenici’s imperialistic foreign policy. On first hearing the news, I thought he might have had a change of heart, but upon examining the details in the press reports, I realized that he still won’t be able to retire with a clear conscience after the 2008 elections. Although that’s a shame for Senator Domenici, the consequences for those who will die as a result of his complete lack of moral leadership and commitment to peace are much graver. Blaming the Iraq fiasco on the puppet Iraqi government is the most immature, hypocritical and fallacious argument in his entire presentation. I cannot believe that a man willing to mouth the most fantastic excuses for immorality has been accepted by the citizens of New Mexico as their senator for so long. His defeat in 2008 cannot come soon enough.”