West-Central Missouri Congressman Ike Skelton says the Bush Administration made "irretrievable" mistakes early on in Iraq and he says Congress must step up to its constitutional duty on behalf of the military.

Skelton, a Democrat, is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Skelton says Iraq has divided into three separate countries, with only one bright spot. Skelton says Iraq is made up of the Kurds in the north, Sunnis generally in the west and Shiites in the east. The United States military has been put in the middle between sectarian violence between the Sunnis and the Shiites. The Sunnis are in the minority with the Shiites holding the majority. Skelton says it’s a fight only the Iraqis can resolve.

The military must re-learn some old lessons, according to Skelton. Skelton says the warfare used by the insurgents in Iraq is nothing new. He says it’s the old guerrilla warfare that the U.S. military used to fight so well, before it adapted to a force-on-force style during the Cold War with the old Soviet Union.

Asked by the Missourinet about what he thinks of the rhetoric on Iraq from the presidential candidates, Skelton says he pays little attention to how presidential candidates propose to handle the Iraqi War. His concerns centers on his committee, which he says acts in a bi-partisan manner. Skelton says his committee understands that the Constitution gives Congress its top priority:  to raise and maintain the military.

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