US policy on Iraq in light of Bush sagging support
Iraq-USA, Politics, 4/21/2006

US Secretary Of State Condoleezza Rice has commented in the past two days about the US policy on Iraq in light of the weak public support for US President George W. Bush.

Rice was asked that "some members of the President's own party say that he has to be very blunt about what's going on in Iraq and speak candidly that things are often not going well there. You seem to empathize with the people in the audience. You said, "I see the same things that you see on television." Is that a change in the strategy, a change in what's being communicated now about Iraq?" Rice replied "No. I think we have always tried to be clear that it is difficult. It's not easy to get to democracy. It is especially not easy when you have a determined enemy, like the Iraqis have, who are determined to destroy the process of democratization. But I do understand what it looks like on television. I get up. I see those images. I have the advantage of also going to Baghdad and sitting with the Iraqi leaders, who eight months ago wouldn't have been in the same room with each other, Sunni leaders who eight months ago were more connected to the possibility of violence than to the political process. I go to Iraq and I see really tough cartoons in the paper about the leadership not getting the government formed and I think, you know, if that were Saddam Hussein that would have gotten me killed. So I think there's also those who see the other side and understand that there is another story, not just of violence, but that the violence is."

Rice said "I think that the President has had to make some really difficult decisions. He's had to take some bold decisions. He's had to do things that are not very popular and I understand that and I think he understands it. What is really impressive about the President is he's going to do what he thinks is right."

Rice said "Recently, in newspaper articles, in satirical cartoons, even in Internet blogs, Iraqis -- men and women -- have been saying things about their leaders that literally would have gotten them killed in the old Iraq. They are urging their leaders to put the good of the nation above the narrow interests of one individual or one party."

"Iraq needs an effective government that can act decisively to meet the momentous challenges that that country now faces. And this is a message that Iraq's leaders are hearing from... the Iraqi people themselves," she said.

Rice said that the process of building democracy in Iraq would be long and difficult, noting the ethnic and sectarian divisions in the country make compromise difficult and adding that Saddam Hussein exacerbated this problem during his 24-year rule by pitting different communities against each other. She also said democracy faces determined and ruthless enemies in Iraq.

Nevertheless, she said, Iraq's nascent democratic institutions are making progress. She said that political and religious leaders have united to confront the threat of sectarian violence and "stay the hands of vengeance in their communities."

The secretary also said the transitional leadership has established new institutions and procedures that will help ensure national unity, stability and effective government. She called these "small but essential steps that will now determine Iraq's success." (See Iraq's Political Process.)

Rice said "As facts on the ground changed, as we've learned the lessons of some things that did not go so well, we have had to adapt. We've had to rethink our assumptions, correct our course and we're better off for it."

The secretary said the United States and coalition forces are establishing provincial reconstruction teams to provide newly empowered provincial administrators with advice on political, economic, legal, development and security matters.

At the central government level, she said the United States has launched a ministry assistance program aimed at ensuring that the ministries function effectively along nonsectarian lines.

She also said the coalition forces have adjusted their strategy in training the Iraqi army, working now to create a complete chain of command instead of just training soldiers. She said this strategy has produced "an institution in which Iraqis have considerable pride."

Rice said that the success of Iraq is vital to the establishment of a more peaceful and democratic Middle East.

"I do believe that if we do our work well, that if we do not lose our will, that if we stay true to our values, we will look back someday and ask why did we ever doubt the triumph of democracy in the Middle East, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Palestine?" Rice said.

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