During today’s Congressional testimony on progress in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker asked Congress to continue funding the war in Iraq. Yet given the lack of political progress and the weakness of Iraqi security forces, any limited military success is unsustainable. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, put it best:

The current escalation in our military presence in Iraq may have produced some tactical successes. But strategically, the escalation has failed. It was intended to buy time for Prime Minister Maliki and the other Iraqi political leaders to find ways to move toward the one thing that may end this terrible civil conflict – and that, of course, is a political settlement. As best we can see, that time has been utterly squandered.

Moreover, America’s continued military presence in Iraq has undermined American security, underfunded national priorities, and increased the terror threat.

Diverted funds from homeland security: According to the U.S. Army War College, the Iraq war “diverted attention and resources away from the security of the American homeland against further assault by an undeterrable al Qaeda.”

Diverted funds from hurricane prevention: As the costs of the Iraq war began to soar in early 2004, the president diverted funds from the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, or SELA to Iraq. The Corps never tried to hide the fact that the spending pressures of the war in Iraq, as well as homeland security — coming at the same time as federal tax cuts — was the reason for the strain.

Slowed down the federal government’s response to natural disasters: After six tornadoes touched down in six southwest Kansas counties in May, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) acknowledged that since “the state is missing vital National Guard equipment because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” recovery time will be “that much slower.” During Hurricane Katrina, many National Guard units were short staffed in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama because they were serving in Iraq.

Led to a sharp rise in terror attacks: A study conducted by Mother Jones magazine has found that “the rate of fatal terrorist attacks around the world by jihadist groups, and the number of people killed in those attacks, increased dramatically after the invasion of Iraq…The rate of attacks on Western interests and citizens has risen by almost 25 percent.”

Radicalized jihadists: According to the latest National Intelligence Estimate, “Iraq jihad is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives…The Iraq conflict has become the “cause celebre” for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of US involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement.”

Alienated the world community: A report by the Pew Research Center found that “distrust of the United States has intensified across the world…Support for America’s so-called war on terrorism has plummeted since 2002, especially in Europe, where U.S. practices against inmates at the Guantánamo Bay and Abu Ghraib prisons have been harshly condemned.”

Diverted resources from the hunt for bin Laden and other terrorists: The Pentagon and the CIA acknowledged that the war in Iraq led to “a shortage of key personnel to fight the war on terrorism,” and hunt for bin Laden.

Drained our military: Ret. Maj. Gen. John Batiste wrote in an op-ed in August, “the war in Iraq is breaking our fine Army and Marine Corps, and we are perilously close to doing damage that will take more than a decade to fix.” According to the Washington Post, the Iraq war has also led to a drop in the overall readiness of U.S. ground forces to handle threats at home and abroad, forcing the Pentagon to accept new risks — even as military planners prepare for a global anti-terrorism campaign that administration officials say could last for a generation.”

Given these failings and the opinions of most Americans — 60% say the United States should set a timetable to withdraw forces “and stick to that timetable regardless of what is going on in Iraq” — Congress must change course in Iraq and bring our troops home. While conservatives continue to portray responsible redeployment from Iraq as defeat in the greater war on terrorism, it continues to be the case that a military withdrawal from Iraq would benefit American national security and allow the military to respond to greater threats from around the world.

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