Senator Casey
"The Bush administration continues to artificially divorce Iraq from its broader regional and international context."My first official trip as a United States Senator last month confirmed my growing concern that the administration is too narrowly focused on a military solution for Iraq when it should also be preparing a comprehensive regional diplomatic initiative to help salvage a broken Iraqi government. Over the course of two days I spent in Iraq and Jordan with my colleague Senator Dick Durbin, we met with senior Iraqi leaders and shared dinner with General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker.
I was also privileged to spend some time during our visit with young Pennsylvanian soldiers deployed in Iraq. The dedication and courage of the young men and women who serve our nation is awe-inspiring. Our troops have done everything we have asked of them – at every step, they have done their jobs. For that reason, it will come as no surprise if General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker report next week that the troop surge that commenced earlier this year is making limited progress in stabilizing some areas of Iraq. However, as General Petraeus himself has made clear, a military solution alone is not sufficient for success in Iraq.
The whole purpose of the surge was to provide breathing space for Iraqi political leaders to make the hard choices necessary for political reconciliation. That has not happened and, based upon my meetings with senior Iraqi leaders, it is not likely to occur anytime in the near future. Each Iraqi official we met on our trip, including President Jalal Talabani, Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, and National Security Advisor Mowaffak al-Rubaie, emphasized the need for patience and time for Iraqis to work out their differences. They discussed the differences between the so-called “Baghdad clock” and the “Washington clock.” I was particularly struck by the lack of urgency exhibited by these leaders – in spite of the horrendous sectarian conflicts tearing apart their nation and the unimaginable loss of life, especially among Iraqi civilians.
The Iraqi government has failed the Iraqi people. The lack of meaningful results on national political reconciliation betrays White House spin efforts to depict the surge as a success. Yet, the president appears determined to largely stay on course and continue the surge into 2008. Rather than continue with a military surge that has not yet yielded sufficient political reconciliation, the White House should switch gears and pull together the required elements for a surge of diplomacy.
The Bush administration continues to artificially divorce Iraq from its broader regional and international context. It labors to prod the government of Prime Minister Maliki into reaching an accord with its Sunni and Kurdish partners while ignoring the powerful influence on Iraqi groups exerted by neighbors. Despite clear evidence that the Iraqi people forcefully reject an indefinite U.S. occupation, the White House refuses to internationalize its presence in Iraq by reaching out to the United Nations, the Arab League, and other international organizations. We continue to treat Iraq as a wholly American problem when its future is of importance to the entire Middle East.
So what to do? The Administration can breathe new energy into two regional initiatives, the International Compact for Iraq and the Iraq Neighbors Conference. Both initiatives, which were launched with much fanfare at a May summit in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, have since lost momentum, despite the creation of useful working groups to address discrete challenges facing Iraq. The United States should consider pressing the United Nations to appoint a special international envoy for Iraq, a figure with a statesman-like reputation who has the legitimacy and credibility to bring Iraq’s feuding parties to the bargaining table. We can urge more of Iraq’s neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, to open embassies in Baghdad and signal their commitment to full diplomatic relations with Iraq. Whatever mechanism is chosen, the Bush administration must demonstrate that it is assigning the highest priority to a diplomatic offensive on Iraq. Both the president and the secretary of State must take personal ownership of this issue, and not delegate it to lower-ranking officials in the bureaucracy.
The need to emphasize sensible regional diplomacy is one reason why I am an original co-sponsor of legislation, S. 1545, to implement the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group (ISG). Lost in the debate over the ISG’s recommendations on U.S. troop redeployments was its clarion call for a “New Diplomatic Offensive” to bring Iraq’s neighbors and key international actors into a comprehensive initiative to address all of Iraq’s outstanding security, political, and economic challenges. That recommendation remains relevant today and hence is the very first policy step outlined in the Senate bill, which today boasts 14 co-sponsors — seven Democrats and seven Republicans.
A shift in U.S. policy to emphasize a renewed diplomatic approach can capitalize on some promising developments in recent weeks. On August 10, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to expand the mandate of its heretofore-limited mission in Iraq, known as UNAMI. In particular, UNAMI is now authorized to assist the Iraqi government with national reconciliation measures, bring together Iraq’s neighbors to discuss border security and energy access, and promote much-needed humanitarian assistance. A week later, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner visited Baghdad, the highest-level French official to do so since before the 2003 U.S. invasion. Kouchner’s visit suggests that newly elected President Nicolas Sarkozy may be ready to put past French grievances aside and work with the United States and the United Nations to promote a functioning government in Iraq.
Comprehensive regional diplomacy is essential not only to stabilize Iraq and promote internal political reconciliation, but also to address the growing Iraqi refugee crisis. Unlike a typical refugee situation, with large masses of destitute families huddled in large camps, the majority of fleeing Iraqis are middle class professionals. The governments in the region, particularly Jordan and Syria, are overwhelmed with the humanitarian needs of these refugees, including educating their children. The United States must do more to help Iraq’s neighbors provide sustainable social services for these refugees and forge a regional accord to foster more long-term solutions. The United States should also step up to the plate and offer expedited entry into our nation for those brave Iraqis who have put their lives at risk in helping the U.S. mission in Iraq, for example by serving as interpreters for our troops.
As Congress returns to session this week, I am sharing my observations garnered from my visit with colleagues to Iraq. The president’s military surge is achieving some limited military results, but without an accompanying diplomatic surge that brings together Iraq’s neighbors and key international actors to promote national reconciliation, those results count for little. The administration’s ad hoc approach to diplomacy on Iraq can no longer suffice if we are to successfully address the most critical foreign policy challenge facing our nation today.
