Oberweis on Iraq: "We're winning"

If the war in Iraq keeps headed in the direction it has in recent months, the nation will someday be a peaceful country that runs itself with minimal assistance from the United States.

That's how 14th Congressional District hopeful Jim Oberweis rated the conflict during a meeting with Daily Herald editorial board members Tuesday.

"I didn't say that we've won the war," Oberweis said. "I do believe we're winning."

That view stands in stark contrast to incumbent Bill Foster's view of the war as an effort the United States should not spend any more money on while the Iraqi government sits on billions of dollars of oil profits. Foster has called for a timetable to bring the troops home with the end of day-to-day combat operations as the first step.

"It is time to get past these debates and do what is best for America and what is best for Iraq," Foster spokeswoman Shannon O'Brien said Tuesday. "Clearly, the leaders and citizens of both countries want a change in policy. While that path is finalized, Congressman Foster was proud to have voted to provide our troops with the resources they need."

Oberweis' evidence for a winning war effort is based on an overall decline in violence and a corresponding fall in conflict-related deaths in recent months. The recent quarterly report to Congress detailed a 77-percent drop in violence compared to the same time just a year ago.

Oberweis said there still is much to accomplish in Iraq, and U.S. citizens shouldn't expect a definitive end to the war anytime soon despite the overwhelming show of force at the beginning of the invasion.

"We won militarily very quickly, but did some really dumb things," Oberweis said.

Chief among them was expecting to be greeted as a liberator by many of the same people who fought against the U.S. when it invaded. They still had their guns, but now had no jobs, leaders or government to turn to, Oberweis said.

However, with victory still in its grasp, the U.S. should not set any timetable for troop withdrawal, at least not a public schedule that would tip off enemies we're still fighting, Oberweis said.

The balance of troops in Iraq versus Afghanistan should be left to military leaders to decide, he said. Winning in Iraq is the key to winning the overall war on terrorism, he added.

His major disappointment with the war on terrorism so far has been the failure to bring Osama bin Laden to justice.

"I'm amazed and dismayed we haven't found him yet," Oberweis said. "I do not believe we should give up until we find him."