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Setting the Record Straight

Eye Still on the Ball

“Adverse developments in Iraq will be (and will look to be) increasingly a function of the Obama Team taking their eye off of the ball and rushing to declare mission accomplished. Yes, in such a scenario the Iraqis should bear most of the blame, but the part that is due to U.S. action or inaction will be Obama's responsibility. And it will matter. Iraq is at the center of a region that every president since Jimmy Carter has identified as vital to our national security. Iraq is next door to, and the playground for mischief from, the most thorny national security challenge the United States faces: a nuclear-weapons-seeking Iranian regime. These inconvenient facts mean that if the Iraqi situation demands more focused and costly U.S. attention, it will likely get it. At that point, what sort of domestic coalition will be available for President Obama's Iraq policy?”
—Peter Feaver, director, Triangle Institute for Security Studies; former director for defense policy and arms control, National Security Council, “Obama’s Iraq Speech: Another Missed Opportunity,” Foreign Policy, August 3, 2010versus
  • “Iraq is a strategically important place in the Middle East, just by its geographic location, by its population, by the influence it's had in the Middle East for a long time. So neighboring countries from around the Middle East have an interest inside of Iraq.

    “But I will tell you that I think Iraqis themselves are nationalistic in nature, and that's why it's important. A strong Iraq will defend itself against interference from outside countries, and I think as we build a strong Iraq and as we continue to build a strong security mechanism and as we continue to help them economically and diplomatically, that will make it less likely of others from the outside being able to interfere.

    “Now, for the vacuum as we see today, again, I remind everyone is that we still have a significant presence here, and we are not going to—we will not allow undue maligned influence on the Iraqi government as they attempt to form their government. What we're trying to do is provide them the space and time for them to do that, and we will continue to do that post 1 September. We'll still have a significant civilian presence, and again, we'll still have 50,000 troops on the ground here to ensure that this government can be formed by the Iraqis. And that all the other nations respect their sovereignty as they go about forming their government.”
    —General Ray Odierno, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, interview, “This Week” with Christiane Amanpour, August 8, 2010

    • Upcoming Events

    The Road Forward on Middle East Peace

    Event: October 1, 2009 - 12:00pm-1:00pm

    Introduction:
    Winnie Stachelberg, Senior Vice President for External Affairs, Center for American Progress

    Featured speaker:
    Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL)

    Moderated by:
    Moran Banai, U.S. Editor of Middle East Bulletin

    WATCH HERE

    A Changing Mission in Iraq

    Printer version

    Opening session of Iraqi Parliament (AP)

    A View from the Ground

    Darbaz Kosrat Rasul, chair, Rebaz Foundation. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.

    Can you tell us about the work of the Rebaz Foundation?

    The Rebaz Foundation is a non-governmental charitable organization operating in the Kurdish region of Iraq. It was established in 2007 by a group of Iraqi Kurdish attending university at the time in London. We wanted to develop a new, non-governmental group that could give voice to the younger generation, outside of the political process. The Rebaz Foundation promotes economic development and social and political reform throughout the Kurdish region. We initially focused on the health and education sectors and have funded various projects, including a university scholarship program for students who could not otherwise afford it. So far, the foundation has funded over 100 students, and we continue to expand that program. We have also renovated and built schools and athletic fields for younger students. In the health sector, the Rebaz Foundation has funded mobile health clinics that visit areas where health services are limited. We also are building a new charitable hospital in Erbil that will be a state of the art facility. In addition, the Rebaz Foundation is expanding its work to address social and government reform. We received funding from the United States Institute of Peace for training and reconciliation program among Arabs and Kurds and we seek to expand our work to promote greater government transparency, accountability and legitimacy among the people.

    Read more >>

    Analysis

    As Obama Talks Peace, Many Iraqis Are Unsure

    Anthony Shadid (The New York Times)

    In his speech [last] Monday, Mr. Obama called the Aug. 31 deadline for the military to bring the number of troops down to 50,000 the closing of a chapter.

    To an American audience, it might resonate that way. Less so to Iraqis. Unlike last year, Iraqi officials, mired in disputes often more personal than political, are not trumpeting the withdrawal as an assertion of an Iraqi authority. …

    Saud al-Saadi, an eloquent and informed teacher in Sadr City, was aware [of the

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    The Premiership

    Sean Kane, program officer for Iraq programs, Center of Post-Conflict Peace and Stability Operations, U.S. Institute of Peace (Peace Brief)

    In 2006, government formation took almost six months. It is difficult to predict a timeline for the current process, but Iraqis characterize the present situation as more complex than 2006 due to a combination of internal and external factors.

    The first source of increased complexity is the nature of the electoral coalitions and hence the election results in 2010. In 2006, the grand Shiite electoral alliance won 47 percent of the parliamentary seats and it was clear that this entity would

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    Iraq, the Region’s Prized Bull

    Jamil K. Mroue, publisher and editor in chief, The Daily Star

    Years after Saddam Hussein’s long and bloody reign over Iraq and former U.S. President George W. Bush’s brutal invasion of the country, a general election earlier this year held the potential to set the country on a course away from sectarianism and toward stability.

    Yet politicians have since been unable to form a coalition government and plant the seeds of stability in their country, preferring to take their citizens hostage in their political rivalries, rather than to come to terms with

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    News

    Heard on the Street

    An Evolving Relationship

    James F. Jeffrey, U.S. ambassador to Iraq designate, former principal deputy assistant secretary of state for the Near East, senior adviser to the Secretary of State for Iraq, U.S. deputy chief of mission and U.S. chargé d’affaires in Iraq; testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, July 20, 2010:

    “There will be ongoing military cooperation as our relationship with Iraq evolves. For the time being, Iraqi security forces still require certain assistance with logistics and meeting some other operational requirements. While the remaining U.S. forces will continue to provide training and mentoring until their departure by the end of 2011, the hard work of maintaining security and stability is an Iraqi responsibility, and Iraqi forces are showing they are increasingly able to meet that responsibility. …

    “We now look to Iraq’s leaders to take the steps that will complement the gains made in security. At the top of that list, in my view, is government formation. It has now been more than four months since the people of Iraq voted in national elections, and still no successor government is in place. This is an Iraqi matter, and I want to emphasize that the United States is not taking sides in the negotiations underway among the various parties. We are, however, stressing to political leaders that they must get on with the job. That means they must make compromises even if that requires giving up personal ambitions or partisan agendas. This process must result in the formation of a truly representative government that enjoys broad acceptance and meets the needs and aspirations of all Iraqis.

    “While it is unsettling to see this government formation process drag on, it is an encouraging sign that Iraq’s political leaders are engaged in earnest discussions. The Iraqi people want movement on the major problems that still bedevil them in their daily lives, like electricity and water shortages, lack of employment opportunities, and corruption. There is a need for decisive government action across a broad range of national problems. But the Iraq of 2010 is not the Iraq of 2006, the last time we had a prolonged government formation process. Unlike in 2006, the dangerous power vacuum and violent instability that some predicted have not developed. The caretaker government continues to provide basic services and salaries, and the security forces continue to maintain stability on the streets. Iraq is better off than when I left it in 2005 and the elements necessary for Iraq’s success are present.”

    Background Basics

    U.S. Administration Efforts Toward Middle East Peace, March-July

    Top-Down Track
    Proximity Talks
    Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell is concluding his sixth round of talks this week, which have included meetings with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. Plans for proximity talks were announced in March, but the first round did not begin

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