Pawlenty: ‘We need to win this war’

03/28/2006

Back from Iraq, governor stresses need for unity government

BY BILL SALISBURY
Pioneer Press

Upon returning Monday from a five-day trip to Iraq, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said forming a unity government there is the key to reducing violence and instability in that country.

“We need to win this war,” Pawlenty said in a telephone interview with reporters after his plane landed in the Twin Cities. “If we don’t, there are going to be likely serious and potentially catastrophic consequences for the region and for our country’s national security interests.”

A unity government would help Iraqis “feel like they have a seat at the table in a peaceful and civil way,” he said.
Pawlenty was part of a nine-man delegation headed by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that traveled to Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan to meet with officials of those countries and U.S. military and diplomatic personnel to get a firsthand look at the situation.

Pawlenty said McCain invited him and two other governors, Jon Huntsman of Utah and Bob Riley of Alabama, because their National Guard troops, including 2,600 Minnesota soldiers, are headed to or are serving in the region.

The governor and other members of the U.S. delegation, including Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., issued a joint statement calling for a national unity government in Iraq. If Iraqi leaders aren’t able to form a unity government within a few weeks, they said they would ask President Bush to call a summit to finish the job.

“Formation of a unity government will be a decisive factor in achieving success in this conflict,” they said. “It will also accelerate the delivery of billions in aid promised by friendly western and Arab nations waiting for the formation of the new unity government.”

Pawlenty said the delegation went first to Kuwait on Thursday, where they met with government leaders, then to Baghdad on Friday for meetings with the U.S. military commander and ambassador and the president and prime minister of Iraq.

On Sunday, he said, they traveled by helicopter to a U.S. Marine command center for a briefing on efforts to quell violence in a war-torn region. Finally, they stopped in Jordan to meet with King Abdullah II.
Pawlenty praised the U.S. troops he met in Iraq.

“Their morale and energy and dedication to this mission is incredible,” he said.
He asked Minnesotans to express their gratitude and support to the soldiers at “every possible opportunity.”

If Iraqi leaders aren’t able to form a unity government within a few weeks, said Pawlenty and other members of the delegation, they would ask President Bush to call a summit to finish the job.