More than two dozen liberal-leaning members
of Congress sent a letter to President Obama Thursday calling on the
administration not to lose its focus on Iraq, especially with upcoming
elections there that could prove crucial to Obama's stated timetable for
withdrawal of U.S. forces.
The letter, led by
Massachusetts Rep. Bill Delahunt, a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee
chairman, was also endorsed by committee chairman Howard Berman, D-CA,
House Oversight National Security subcommittee head John Tierney, D-MA,
and several leaders of the progressive caucus. The impetus for the letter was a
recent dispute over the attempt by Shiites to ban hundreds of Sunni candidates
from the polls and several delays that have already pushed the elections to
March 7.
"What has prompted the letter has
been a profound concern about the initial election ruling and continuing
concerns about letting the recent gains slip away, given the realities on the
ground," Delahunt told The Cable.
An Iraqi appeals court ruled this
week against the ban on the Sunni candidates, but the issue is now being brought
before Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council, the highest court in the land.
Vice President Joseph Biden
traveled to Baghdad late last month during the height of the dispute in what
was widely viewed as an effort to mediate, though rhetorically, Biden
maintained the dispute was a matter for the Iraqis to work out among
themselves.
Delahunt said lawmakers wanted to go on record as imploring the
administration not to lose focus on Iraq as attention shifts to Afghanistan and
Pakistan.
"We want the administration to
continue to comply with the withdrawal dates but not to lose any focus, because
this is one of the most critical moments in terms of the Iraq adventure," he
said, adding, "Part of the purpose of the letter too was to refocus members of
Congress on this election. There's a sense that we've moved on from Iraq."
Stephen
Biddle, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said that continued
U.S. government involvement in Iraq was crucial over the next few months as the
fragile reconciliation process there continues while U.S. military forces
withdraw.
"I think we still have an important role to play," said
Biddle, "Iraq isn't at war and neither is it at peace. It's at the earliest
stages at what's typically a very long transition."
With a deficit of $1.6 trillion, don't our domestic problems take precedent. I don't see one single benefit from the year up on year of resources wasted on this war.
Josh Rogin reports on national security and foreign policy from the Pentagon to Foggy Bottom, the White House to Embassy Row, for The Cable.
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