By By MICHAEL C. GUILMETTE JR. / Dowagiac Daily News
NILES – Although Fred Upton stood in support of the House of Representatives' resolution against the troop surge in Iraq, the Sixth District Republican said he still supports the troops.
"That vote did not cut a dime from our troops who are there or who are going there," Upton, R-St. Joseph, said Wednesday during a stop in Niles. He added that he will vote against any bill that will actually take funding away from U.S. forces fighting in the Middle East.
"When 80 percent of Iraqis think it is okay to kill U.S. troops, clearly it is a civil war," he said.
He also stressed the need to allow commanders on the ground the ability to make tactical decisions.
"If you want to win the war, let the generals run it," Upton said.
Even with his expressed support for U.S. forces and the continuation of the Iraq mission, Upton called for an increased effort towards diplomacy with other governments in the region. He also criticized the Iraqi government for being slow to take up their own security matters.
"[Iraqi officials] are content to sit in the Green Zone and collect $100,000 salaries," Upton said, adding the continued level of U.S. involvement will only add to the Iraqi government's complacency.
In a conversation with Gen. George Casey, the U.S. Army chief of staff, Upton said Casey told him more troops will only delay when Iraqis take control of the political situation.
Upton cited Northern Ireland, Bosnia and North Korea as examples of diplomacy being used to solve ongoing conflicts. He also this same strategy was used by President Ronald Reagan for dealing with the Soviet Union.
"Reagan talked to the Russians. He engaged them," Upton said.
On North Korea, Upton said he was "very hopeful" about the breakthrough agreement reached with North Korea on Feb. 13 to create a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.
"They can either play ball and cease and desist," or face the consequences, Upton said of the isolated North Korean regime.
Upton traveled to North Korea in January 2005 to revive the six-party talks between the United States, North Korea, South Korea, Russia, China and Japan in order to convince the North Koreans to give up their nuclear ambitions. In return, the U.S. and other regional powers would resume fuel oil shipments to the impoverished nation.
Upton said he told his North Korean counterparts that "things are only going to get worse" if they continue pursuing a nuclear weapons program. Although his warning was met with anger, Upton said conditions are North Korea are such that he believes they are ready to deal.
Upton, who spent three days in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, said most buildings – even government buildings – were not heated, and most North Korean cities are completely dark at night. He said conditions in Pyongyang were likely better in the capital since only the ruling party's favored are allowed to live there, so he surmised life must be miserable for people living in towns and villages in the rest of the country.
The North Koreans must mothball their nuclear facility at Yongbyon and allow international weapons inspectors in the country within 60 days of the agreement or "we pinch the hose again," Upton said, implying the U.S. would cut off fuel shipments.
"With the al-Qaida threat, we cannot allow this facility to continue," Upton said.
Marcia Steffens contributed to this report.