By Brigitte L. Nacos
The short-circuited American-led coalition’s efforts in Afghanistan in the months following 9/11 have
allowed Osama bin Laden and Company as well as their Taliban ally to recover and
prepare for more and far more devastating terror attacks on the U.S.and other
western states (see, for example, Frank Rich
and No
Quarter). Yet, there is no end in sight for the Iraq fiasco and its costs in human
lives and suffering as well as financial resources, all of which distracts from
fighting Al Qaeda and like-minded terror groups and cells. While Democrats in
Congress are divided on whether
and how to stop the so-called troop surge and the president is biking rather
than participating in a White
House drill on highest level responses to massive terrorist attacks on
major American cities, the focus should be on a reasonable exit strategy that will not make the mess in Iraq greater than it is already. This way, the administration may finally pay more attention to the Al Qaeda threat and preventative efforts as well as preparedness for the worst case scenario.
I agree with those who argue that a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq would intensify the sectarian infighting and unleash a full-fletched civil war that would sooner or later bring neighboring countries into the picture and destabilize the Middle East far beyond Iraq. But the U.S and others in the shrinking “coalition of the willing” should negotiate with governments in the region (including Iran and Syria) and explore how to involve Iraq’s neighbors in pacifying Iraqi factions and push for massive reconstruction of the devastated country so that the current occupation can end without worsening what already amounts to a immense catastrophe. Governments in the region, whatever their designs, cannot be interested in a completely out of control Iraq that would destabilize the region; to prevent such a predicament should bring them to the negotiating table.
New Mexico governor and presidential candidate Bill Richardson proposed the other day that the Bush administration should “learn from recent successes with North Korea and engage in intense diplomatic negotiations in the Middle East to end the Iraq war.” Indeed, just as Washington cultivated diplomatic ties and negotiated with cold war adversaries, the time has come to do the same with Iran and Syria and draw in other countries in the region, such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. In the process, there may be even an opening to speak negotiate directly with Iranians about their nuclear program in multilateral or bilateral settings—or both.
Four years after the invasion there is little hope that military force will change things around in Iraq. It is time to go the diplomatic route in search for political solutions.
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