[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Sign-in] [Mail] [Setup] [Help]
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
|
War, War, War See other War, War, War Articles Title: US counting on 'diplomatic surge' for Iraq (a phrase Obama used a week ago) WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush this week celebrated security gains from the US troop "surge" in Iraq -- but made clear that US hopes rest heavily on what some aides call "the diplomatic surge." Amid controversy at home over plans for sealing a long-term strategic deal to keep US forces in Iraq, the Bush administration is stepping up efforts to get the country's neighbors, especially Saudi Arabia, to play a bigger role. "On the diplomatic front, Iraq will increase its engagement in the world -- and the world must increase its engagement with Iraq," the US president urged in an 18-minute defense of his handling of the unpopular war. But US officials barely conceal their frustration with a years-long campaign they acknowledge has failed to convince Arab nations in the Gulf to embrace the fledgling Baghdad government now led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. And they say the effort has a new urgency as Washington aims to curb or at least balance Iran's influence in Iraq with before Bush hands over the keys to the White House in January 2009. Bush made headlines Thursday by announcing -- as expected -- that he would wrap up a limited US withdrawal by July, then freeze further draw-downs until the top US commander in Iraq, Army General David Petraeus, gives the okay. But the US president also announced he was sending Petraeus and the US Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, to Saudi Arabia to urge that staunch US ally to engage the Maliki government more closely. And "I'm directing our nation's senior diplomats to meet with the leaders in Jordan, the UAE, and Qatar, and Kuwait and Egypt," said Bush. "In each capital, they will brief them on the situation in Iraq, and encourage these nations to reopen their embassies in Baghdad, and increase their overall support for Iraq," he said. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Condoleezza rice is due in Bahrain on April 21 to meet the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) composed of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Rice will then attend an international conference in Kuwait on April 22 to promote Iraq's economy, security and diplomatic ties, and a May 29 meeting in Stockholm on Iraq's development, US officials said. "It's a diplomatic surge now," said one Bush administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Saudi Arabia appears to be the main target: US officials say privately that the Arab, Sunni regional heavyweight is a logical counter for Iran's Persian, Shiite Muslim influence. The officials also say that the Saudis don't much like Maliki but, as one said, "they need to get over it" if they want to counter Iran. "They're coming around," that official added. US Vice President Dick Cheney visited Riyadh last month with the explicit goal of getting the kingdom to reopen its embassy in Baghad and renew regular diplomatic exchanges -- an effort that has yet to bear fruit. "I think our Arab friends would do well to send ambassadors to Iraq," Cheney said in Iraq, ahead of his stop in Saudi Arabia. "I think especially if Arab states (are) concerned about Iranian influence in Iraq -- one of the ways for them to counter that is to make a commitment to have a presence here, as well," he said. Ahead of the trip, a senior US official told reporters on condition of anonymity that Washington worried that "there's not a lot of competition" against Iranian influence in Iraq. "The United States can do a lot for Iraq, but we cannot provide Iraq with an anchor in the Arab world, a kind of legitimacy for the new Iraqi project that comes from being fully integrated in its neighborhood," the official said.
Poster Comment: Obama to Petraeus - U.S. needs “diplomatic surge that includes Iran”
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: aristeides (#0)
I wonder who he's voting for in Nov?
'Individuals should not take responsibility for their own defense. That’s what the police are for. ... If I oppose individuals defending themselves, I have to support police defending them. I have to support a police state.”' Alan Dershowitz
|
||
|
[Home]
[Headlines]
[Latest Articles]
[Latest Comments]
[Post]
[Sign-in]
[Mail]
[Setup]
[Help]
|
||