CFR News Release: Experts Call for More Coherent Vision for Iraq's Political Future
U.S. Should Provide Iraqis and Americans With a More Coherent and Compelling Vision for Iraq's Political Future
Experts Urge President to Deliver Major Address to the Nation on Importance of Getting the Job Done Right in Post-War Iraq
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COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
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Contact: Lisa Shields, Vice President, Communications, (212) 434-9888
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June 25, 2003 ? With mounting costs to American lives and treasure in Iraq,
and success there so clearly tied to American staying power and the
coherence of U.S. strategy, the Bush administration must sharpen and deepen
its commitment to making Iraq a better and safer place, conclude former UN
Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering and former Defense and Energy Secretary
James R. Schlesinger, co-chairs of the Council-sponsored Independent Task
Force on post-war Iraq. As a first step, the President should set the
direction for his administration by making a major foreign policy address
to the nation, explaining the importance of seeing the task through, as
well as the costs and risks of U.S. engagement in postwar Iraq.
"So much of the future effectiveness of U.S. foreign policy, particularly
in the Middle East, will turn on whether we can help Iraqis to a better
future and whether others around the world see this is happening," say the
co-chairs. Their recommendations, drawn from recent deliberations of the
Task Force, were released today in a "Chair's Update" to the Task Force's
report in March, Iraq: the Day After. Both projects were directed by
Council Fellow and former National Security Council Aide Eric Schwartz.
Develop a clearer political vision and strategy: The absence of a clear
vision and strategy to shape Iraq's political landscape has undermined
progress in the post-war transition and rebuilding effort, and created
uncertainty among Iraqis. The U.S. Civilian Administrator, L. Paul Bremer,
has sought a more assertive role for the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional
Authority, and he has made good progress. But he should now go further, by
defining a U.S. vision and strategy for Iraqi involvement in the political
transition process. This includes the procedures surrounding interim
administration; the process for transfer of authorities to Iraqis linked to
specific benchmarks of progress; and the development of local governance,
local political institutions and civil society.
Employ a wiser approach to communicating with the Iraqi people: Although
there is broad public support in many regions for the coalition presence,
there is hostility toward the United States in parts of Iraq that threatens
to undermine U.S. objectives. Moreover, there are limits to shaping public
consensus in Iraq through the traditional tools of public diplomacy. U.S.
officials should make more concerted efforts to speak "through Iraqi
leaders," by broadening their interaction with leaders at the local,
regional, and national levels. And though there are obvious risks, U.S.
troops in Iraq serve important policy goals through broad interaction with
the general public in a way that is reassuring about the coalition
presence. Public diplomacy programming should not only impart information,
but should emphasize political dialogue with Iraqis and the free flow of
ideas as a means to promote a more democratic political culture.
Promote public security and the rule of law: The administration should
reaffirm its commitment to sustain a large presence of U.S. military forces
to ensure stability as long as necessary, even as U.S. officials seek to
recruit military forces from other capable states. The administration
should also augment efforts to recruit international civilian police;
deploy experts in criminal investigation to address the threat of criminal
syndicates and black market activity; and accelerate efforts to establish
institutions that will promote respect for the rule of law.
Improve management and operations in the oil industry: While UN Security
Council Resolution 1483 paved the way to restore Iraq's petroleum exports
and increased capacity over time, substantial challenges remain. The
administration should ensure a clearer chain of command for decision-making
by defining the parameters of U.S. involvement and speaking with a
consistent voice to Iraqi authorities. It should also establish greater
transparency and effective communication within the oil sector.
Share the burden with international partners: Appointing the UN
secretary-general's special representative (SRSG) for Iraq has created
opportunities for greater burden sharing, which would lighten the load for
the U.S. government and enhance international support for the postwar
transition effort. But it not clear that the administration envisions a
meaningful role for the SRSG, whose appointment it so actively sought.
Ambassador Bremer should work with the SRSG to establish interim political
institutions and promote international support for the rebuilding effort.
Prepare for the next peace stabilization and reconstruction challenge after
Iraq: Iraq is neither the first nor the last post-conflict peace
stabilization and reconstruction operation the United States will embark
upon. The president should commit the United States to serious and
sustained effort to build U.S. capabilities in peace stabilization and
post-conflict reconstruction, so that managing these operations becomes a
genuine national competence.
Established in 1921, the Council on Foreign Relations is a nonpartisan
membership organization, publisher, and think tank, dedicated to increasing
America's understanding of the world and contributing ideas to U.S. foreign
policy. The Council accomplishes this mainly by promoting constructive
debates and discussions, clarifying world issues, and publishing Foreign
Affairs, the leading journal on global issues.
Full text of the Chair's Update to the Council-sponsored Independent Task
Force,
Iraq: The Day After, and the original report are available at
Thomas R. Pickering, co-chair of the Task Force, is Senior Vice President
for International Relations at Boeing. His diplomatic career spanned five
decades, and included service as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the
United Nations. He retired from government in 2000 as Undersecretary of
State for Political Affairs.
James R. Schlesinger, co-chair of the Task Force, is the Chairman of the
MITRE Corporation's Board of Trustees and is Senior Advisor at Lehman
Brothers. He is also Counselor and Trustee for the Center for Strategic and
International Studies and Chairman of the Executive Committee at The Nixon
Center. He served as Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Energy.
TASK FORCE MEMBERS
J. Brian Atwood is Dean of the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the
University of Minnesota. He served as the Administrator of the U.S. Agency
for International Development during the Clinton administration.
Kenneth H. Bacon is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Refugees
International. Between 1994 and 2001, he served as the Assistant Secretary
of Defense for Public Affairs and Pentagon spokesman.
Edward P. Djerejian is the founding Director of the James A. Baker III
Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. He has also served as the
U.S. Ambassador to Syria and Israel and was Assistant Secretary of State
for Near Eastern Affairs from 1991 to 1993.
James F. Dobbins is the Director of RAND's Center for International
Security and Defense Policy. He was Ambassador the European Community
(1991-1993), Special Assistant to the President for the Western Hemisphere
(1996-1999) and Assistant Secretary of State for Europe (2001-2002). He
served as the Clinton administrations special envoy for Somalia, Haiti,
Bosnia and Kosovo and most recently as the Bush administrations Special
Envoy for Afghanistan.
Stanley Fischer is the Vice Chairman of Citigroup and the president of
Citigroup International. He has served as the first Deputy Managing
Director of the International Monetary Fund from September 1994 to August
2001 and as Special Adviser to the Managing Director from September 1, 2001
until January 31, 2002.
Rend Francke is currently the Executive Director of the Iraq Foundation.
She has written extensively on Iraqi politics and is the coauthor of The
Arab Shia: The Forgotten Muslims, published in 2000.
Bart Friedman is a Senior Partner at Cahill, Gordon & Reindel and serves on
the Brookings Institution Board of Trustees.
Carl Gershman has been the President of the National Endowment for
Democracy since 1984.
John C. Hulsman is a Research Fellow in European Affairs, at the Davis
Institute for International Studies at the Heritage Foundation.
Jeane J. Kirkpatrick is a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise
Institute and Professor Emeritus at Georgetown University. She served as a
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations during the Reagan
administration and was a member of President Reagan's cabinet and National
Security Council.
Ellen Laipson is the President and Chief Executive officer of the Henry L.
Stimson Center. She worked on U.S. policy toward Iraq in the 1990s at the
National Intelligence Council, the National Security Council, and the U.S.
Mission to the United Nations. She served as Vice Chair of the National
Intelligence Council from 1997 to 2002.
Robert A. Malley is the Director of the International Crisis Group's Middle
East Program. He was on the National Security Council staff from 1994 to
2001. He finished his tenure at the NSC as Special Assistant to the
President for Arab-Israeli Affairs.
Phebe Marr is a leading specialist on Iraq and was a Senior Fellow at the
National Defense University.
Edward L. Morse is a Senior Executive Advisor at Hess Energy Trading.
Gregory S. Newbold is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating
Officer of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. A retired Lieutenant
General, he was formerly the Director of Operations on the Joint Staff.
Diane Orentlicher is a Professor at American University's Washington
College of Law.
James A. Placke is currently a Senior Associate at Cambridge Energy
Research Associates (CERA) and a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings
Institution. Previously he was director for Middle East Research at CERA.
Kenneth M. Pollack is a Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies and
Director of Research, at the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for
Middle East Policy. He served as Director for Persian Gulf Affairs at the
National Security Council from 1999 to 2001.
Eric P. Schwartz, director of this Task Force, is a Senior Fellow at the
Council on Foreign Relations. He was on the National Security Council staff
from 1993 to 2001. He finished his NSC tenure as Special Assistant to the
President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for
Multilateral and Humanitarian Affairs.
John M. Shalikashvili is a Visiting Professor with the Institute for
International Studies at Stanford University. After the 1991 Gulf War, he
commanded Operation Provide Comfort, the international mission that
provided humanitarian assistance and protection to Kurds in northern Iraq.
He retired from the U.S. Army in 1997, after serving as Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Richard H. Solomon is President of the United States Institute of Peace. He
formerly served as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific
Affairs from 1989 to 1992.
Gordon R. Sullivan is the President and Chief Operating Officer of the
Association of the United States Army (AUSA). He served as co-chair of the
Commission on Post-Conflict Reconstruction, a joint project of the Center
for Strategic and International Studies and AUSA. He retired from the U.S.
Army in 1995, after serving as the Army's 32nd Chief of Staff.
Frank G. Wisner is Vice Chairman of External Affairs at American
International Group, Inc. Ambassador Wisner has served in a number of
senior positions in the U.S. government, including Undersecretary of
Defense for Policy from 1993 to 1994, and Undersecretary of State for
International Security Affairs from 1992 to 1993.
TASK FORCE OBSERVERS
Rachel Bronson, Council on Foreign Relations
Wendy Chamberlin, U.S. Agency for International Development
Scott R. Feil, Alion Science and Technology
David L. Goldwyn, Goldwyn International Strategies, LLC
Arthur C. Helton, Council on Foreign Relations
Paul D. Hughes, U.S. Department of Defense
Judith Kipper, Council on Foreign Relations
Laith Kubba, National Endowment for Democracy
Richard W. Murphy, Council on Foreign Relations
Andrew Parasiliti, Office of Senator Chuck Hagel
David L. Phillips, Council on Foreign Relations
Robin Roizman, Office of Representative Tom Lantos
Dennis Sabal, U.S. Department of Defense
James A. Schear, National Defense University
Anita Sharma, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Joseph Siegle, Council on Foreign Relations
Puneet Talwar, Office of Senator Joseph Biden
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