A less American face for mediation in Iraq

A less American face for mediation in Iraq
By Chuck Hagel
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: July 3 2007 03:00 | Last updated: July 3 2007 03:00


Iraq is caught in a vicious and unrelenting cycle of violence, despair and retribution that risks tearing it apart and spilling over into the rest ofthe Middle East.

America has vital geopolitical, energy and economic interests in this troubled region. However, America's support for involvement in Iraq continues to erode. We are dangerously close to the moment when the American people will demand that we leave Iraq and pull back from the Middle East, risking a wider regional conflagration. This is not in the US's interest or the world's.

In September, our military and diplomatic leaders in Iraq will provide Congress with a report on the situation. We cannot afford simply to wait until September to consider what must be done. The president and Congress must focus on developing a viable new strategy that the American people can support, and that advances our interests in the Middle East. We cannot afford to remain bogged down in the mistakes and disagreements of the last four years, or in a partisan divide over Iraq.

American military power will not be the solution. The time for more troops is past. We must begin planning for a phased withdrawal and redeployment of US troops from Iraq. The only sustainable way forward is to achieve Iraqi political accommodation that will begin to move the country towards political reconciliation. However, Iraqis by themselves appear incapable of achieving political progress. They have had more than four years to find a political consensus. It continues to evade them, increasing the violence and danger in the Middle East.

We need strategic direction for Iraq that moves to "internationalise" our efforts to help the Iraqis achieve a core of political stability. As the Baker-Hamilton report concluded, Iraqi political accommodation can be achieved only within a constructive regional framework supported by the international community. The US must refocus its policy, leadership and resources on directly helping the Iraqis to establish an inclusive political framework to begin to defuse the violence.

An international mediator, under the auspices of the UN Security Council and with the full support of the Iraqi government, should be established. The mediator should have the authority of the international community to engage Iraq's political, religious, ethnic and tribal leaders in an inclus-ive political process. In letters last month to President George W. Bush and the UN secretary-general I urged them urgently to consider this initiative.

Special envoys have been instrumental in helping bring political reconciliation to other recent conflicts - Afghanistan, Kosovo, East Timor, Northern Ireland - adapted to the conditions in each country. Iraq needs the inter-national community's help and support if it is to turn away fromsectarian violence. If there is Iraqi resistance, we should be clear with all Iraq's leaders that this initiative is a condition of continued US support.

This approach would help begin to take the American face off Iraq's political process. The US is seen as the occupier. Our ability to influence the outcome in Iraq has been seriously eroded.

This approach would further invest the region and the rest of the world in helping to stabilise Iraq. Reversing Iraq's slide into chaos is a goal shared by nations around the world. Creating an international mediator would build on this common interest.

To succeed, this initiative must be complemented by other elements of a new regional US strategy. Stability in Iraq requires a sustainable and constructive comprehensive regional security framework, one that includes engaging Syria and Iran. We cannot allow last month's regional ministerial conference on Iraq in Sharm el-Sheikh to be a "one-off" event. The US must also announce a renewed commitment to address the Arab-Israeli conflict, with a Middle East special envoy who has the authority effectively to work the day-to-day political reconciliation effort. The appointment of Tony Blair is welcome. He has the stature, standing and experience that will be required. To succeed, he must also have the mandate and authority to address all issues, including the political issues that must be resolved to achieve the two-state solution.

Ultimately, the future of Iraq will depend onchoices made by the Iraqi people. America's role will also remain critically important. But finding a responsible way forward in Iraq will require broader support. Creating an international mediator could help. For stability in Iraq, the world community must be engaged in support of a new political and diplomatic strategy.

The writer is a US senator for Nebraska