07 June 2005
Bush's Nominee as U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Lists Priorities
Khalilzad says he hopes to promote national unity, security, reconstruction
By David Shelby
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington – Zalmay Khalilzad, President Bush’s nominee to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to Iraq, outlined a seven-point plan to help Iraq overcome its present difficulties and realize a secure and prosperous future.
“If confirmed, I will work in partnership with all Iraqis – all sects, all ethnic groups, men and women – to accelerate success in Iraq,” Khalilzad said in his prepared remarks for the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which opened hearings on his nomination June 7.
“By success, I mean an Iraq that can stand on its own feet, providing an open and representative political process in which all Iraqis can take part, establishing security for its people, and creating economic prosperity that will enable Iraqi families to have access to education, health care, and other basic services,” he said.
Khalilzad said his first goal is to help unite Iraqis against the terrorists and hard-line Ba’athists. “I will reach out to all of Iraq’s communities to help them develop a common and unifying vision – a national compact for their nation’s political future,” he said.
He said he would also work to defeat the insurgency through close coordination with coalition military forces and by increasing the number and capabilities of Iraqi security forces.
The nominee said he would work with neighboring countries to build a more favorable regional environment for Iraqi stabilization and reconstruction. He said that some of Iraq’s neighbors are being helpful to the fledgling government while others are playing a destabilizing role. Khalilzad said he would encourage the helpful neighbors to show an even greater commitment to Iraq and work to neutralize the activities of unhelpful neighbors.
Khalilzad said he hopes to accelerate the building of institutions that will ensure good governance and the rule of law. He also aims to build upon the progress that has been made in Iraqi reconstruction, working to decentralize the process by involving provincial councils and local contractors.
The nominee said he wants to make more effective use of public diplomacy to explain the United States’ commitment to helping Iraqis achieve complete self-reliance. Finally, he said, he would work with the Iraqis to ensure the most favorable conditions for national elections under Iraq’s new constitution. Assuming the constitution is approved in the October 15 referendum, those elections would be held by December 31.
Khalilzad told the committee, “I urge Iraqis to seize this moment by building an Iraq in which all Iraqis are vital and active participants and everyone’s rights are respected.”
Khalilzad served as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan from November 2003 until this year. The Committee on Foreign Relations must vote on his nomination before passing his name to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote.
The full text of Khalilzad’s remarks as submitted for the record is available on the committee’s Web site.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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