U.S. Iraq-Afghanistan Nominee Supports Local Solutions
07 June 2007
Lute says local solutions more enduring than those imposed from outside
Washington – Problems in the Middle East and South Asia cannot be solved by military might alone, and an American-only solution will not succeed, says President Bush’s nominee to oversee daily coordination of government action in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“We can’t look at Iraq and Afghanistan and the problems there without seeing them through the lens of the region in which they exist,” Lieutenant General Douglas Lute told a Senate committee June 7, adding that progress in both countries is still uneven.
Lute appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee for the first time since his nomination by President Bush. (See related article.)
If confirmed, the three-star Army general would have a role in ordering missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a say in decisions on funding and troop levels.
Lute said no one is satisfied with the status quo in Iraq, with progress unfolding too slowly. In the complex operating environment, he said, efforts to fix one problem often expose new challenges. Early results since President Bush ordered a shift in course in January are mixed, according to his assessment. (See related article.)
Responding to Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, Lute said Iraqi participation in the surge of U.S. troops to Baghdad has been “uneven so far.” Every opportunity must be given to the Iraqis, he said, to take the lead and integrate the political, economic and military dimensions of the overall policy because in the end a local solution “will be the enduring one” for Iraq.
On using political benchmarks to measure Iraqi progress, Lute raised the issue of possibly pushing the Iraqis too hard when they may not yet have sufficient capacity to produce the desire outcome. If they are pressed too hard, he said, “will we, in turn, end up with an outcome that isn’t really worth the paper it’s written on?”
The presence of an augmented number of U.S. troops in Iraq is providing stability and security for the Iraqis, Lute said. “We’re giving them a golden opportunity that they must seize to make progress on the political front,” he told the committee, while underlining the reality that Iraq’s government -– only a year old -- “is immature and still emerging.”
He assessed progress in Afghanistan as steady, but slow. In his written response to questions submitted by committee members in advance of the hearing, Lute said greater coherence is needed in Afghanistan with respect to better governance, economic development and security. This will be accomplished, he said, “by better integrating the NATO mission, the U.S. missions, and the efforts of the international community.”
A military solution will not suffice in bringing an end to strife and sectarian violence in either country, said Lute, who was accompanied by his spouse, Jane Holl Lute, assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations at the United Nations.
In his new position, Lute would report directly to the president, briefing him daily on efforts to eliminate bureaucratic obstacles to progress in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Some members of Congress raised concerns about Lute’s role vis-à-vis that of National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley. Lute said Hadley’s role will be undiminished if his nomination is approved by the full Senate. The nominee said he would join the team as deputy national security advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan.
Pressed to distinguish between the roles of the two advisers, Lute said Hadley still will be responsible “across the global spectrum” for policies ranging from China to Russia to Africa, while Lute’s focus would be restricted to Afghan and Iraqi missions.
Lute said one of his initial tasks would be to ask the ground force commander in Iraq and the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, as well as the U.S. ambassador in Kabul and the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, to provide fresh assessments of their priorities. With those in hand, he said, he will “focus like a laser” on meeting them.
For more information on U.S. policies, see Iraq Update and Rebuilding Afghanistan.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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