White House set for new Iraq strategy
Iraq-USA, Politics, 1/6/2007

White House spokesman yesterday said that "The President has announced John Negroponte will be going to the State Department and Mike McConnell will be the new Director of National Intelligence. In addition, the Pentagon, within the hour, has announced recommendations by Defense Secretary Gates to elevate General George Casey to become Army Chief of Staff; General George Petraeus to be head of the multinational forces in Iraq; Admiral William Fallon to assume commander of Central Command; and announces the retirement of General John Abizaid."

Snow said "Number one, nobody is satisfied with the status quo in Iraq, including the President. Number two, there is a recognition that there are a series of facts on the ground that you're going to have to address. You have sectarian violence, it's an absolute must. Which means that in addressing sectarian violence, you not only deal with insurgents, you not only deal with the rejectionists, you not only deal with militias, you also have to find ways after you deal with the violence, itself, of putting together the ability for Iraqis to gather around a unified government, to have reconciliation -- sectarian reconciliation, political reconciliation, a guarantee of political rights, measures designed to make sure that there is an economic future for Iraqis, and so on.

"If you take a look at the letter that was sent by Leader Reid and Speaker Pelosi, it talks about a renewed diplomatic strategy, and the United States remains aggressive on the diplomatic front. It talks about a sustainable political settlement, which we think is absolutely vital, and have continued to talk about. It talks about addressing sectarian problems, which we consider important.
And I would draw your attention to the first two phrases in the last sentence of the letter: 'We want to do everything we can to help Iraq succeed in the future' -- actually, just the first one. They don't believe the US combat troops provide that solution. That's fine. 'We want to do everything we can to help Iraq succeed' -- that's precisely the kind of dialogue the President would love to have, which is, okay, when you say we want to do anything we can, what is that, and how do you define it a success? And those are the kinds of conversations that are going on. The President, for the most part, is listening to people, listening to their ideas. And, also, many of the people who are in are expressing the concerns that their constituents have about the situation in Iraq.

"So the approach that we have taken -- and there will be opportunities for Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid to speak with the President on this -- is the President will listen. And I think one of the things we will do is welcome them to offer their suggestions."

Snow added "The one thing the President is committed to is victory in Iraq. Winning in Iraq, in terms of creating an Iraq that can sustain, defend and govern itself, but also understanding that there is a larger war on terror that is even more vital for the United States to pursue -- Iraq is a central front in that war, but it is not the only front -- and that US policy does need -- we need to widen our gaze, to ask the question, are we prepared to continue the battle through this -- and, no doubt, succeeding administrations -- in waging an effective war on terror, so Americans will have a more secure future? So that's kind of the nature of the discussions that we've had today. And they've been very good. The tone has been respectful. There have been some vigorous exchanges, but they've been quite interesting, and a lot of us taking notes, because there are things to learn from people who have come by."

Asked that Senator Reid said that the President needs to hear from people who tell him something that he wants to hear; obviously Generals Abizaid and Casey are not telling him what he wants to hear, and they're out. Can you respond to that, Snow replied " That's inaccurate. That's just flat inaccurate. General Casey is now going to be the Chairman -- I mean, he's going to be the Army Chief, the Chief of Staff for the United States Army. General Abizaid is somebody whose counsel we will continue to value and will listen to. What you do have is a situation where, as you develop a new way forward, you had the situation in which you also had a couple of guys whose billets were going to come up within a period of time. And the answer is, once you're started on a new way forward, do you change then, or do you change now? And it makes sense to go ahead and make sure that you're going to have your command team that is going to be in place as you're working on this new way forward and enacting it. And I think there's -- he has found very able and capable individuals. Secretary Gates and the President are very happy with the people they are now going to be proposing."

Snow added "And I think -- surely, Senator Reid is not suggesting that the President doesn't like to hear from people who disagree with him. As a matter of fact, we've thrown the doors wide open to people who bring all points of view precisely because we want to figure out how to get this absolutely right."

Asked that in the last communication the President had with Prime Minister Maliki, he said he was looking for signs of Prime Minister Maliki's will, and he said that he found what he was looking for. But the fact that he's still looking this far in the game, what's changed? I mean, a couple of months ago, he was the right guy for the job, Snaow said "No, I think -- and I think he's seeing it. For instance, the Prime Minister, within the last hour or so, has released a statement where he's talking about making aggressive new moves in Baghdad. And I think there have been a lot of questions here in the United States, and people are asking the question: What are the Iraqis going to do? And those are questions that are worth answering. Prime Minister Maliki, as I've told you, in our dealings with him, is somebody who seems to be -- who is becoming more assertive and more comfortable with power. This is a guy who has now been a head of state for something like seven months in a country that.. has not had a functioning democracy before, where people are still trying to figure out how political parties work. And you now see him more comfortable with taking these things on. What the President really is doing is rephrasing a question a lot of Americans have asked, and we think we're starting to see answers for."

Snow also said "If you listen to what was said -- what Prime Minister Maliki did is he outlined his suggestions for taking a look at the Baghdad security plan when he and the President met in Amman. And that has provided a basis for future discussions. So this is not -- I really want to clear up the misconception that the United States is drafting plans and handing orders to the Iraqis, because that's not the case. The Iraqis are playing a very active role and saying this is what we think is going to be the most effective way forward. So this is not done in a vacuum. And the ultimate end result here is Iraqis assuming full control over security and other operations within their country."Snow also said "The Prime Minister speaks on an almost daily basis with the Ambassador, so, frankly, when you're putting together a plan, you also put it together with an eye on figuring out what you think is going to lead to success. And part of that success is making sure the government of Iraq, which increasingly is going to be leading the action, that this is done in support of that government. The government of Iraq is not in a support role for us; we're in a support role for them. And, again, I think a lot of the debate in this country is, what are the Americans going to come in and do -- as if it's a unilateral action, and it's just not."

Amid an atmosphere where Democrats assumed control of the Congress and calls for a more reserved US role in Iraq or a pull back of US forces, Snow was asked of plans to increase US forces in Iraq as Bush may want to do, Snow said "The President relies on the expertise and the advice of people within the chain of command. He's still the Commander-in-Chief, and as Commander-in-Chief, once he decides on a way forward, the people within that chain of command are the ones who figure out the best way to execute it. But these things are not done in a vacuum. And the President has always been somebody who defers to commanders on a lot of key issues, because they're going to know a lot of the vagaries better.
Again, at this point, what I would suggest, while everybody is trying to put together a narrative, surge or no surge, we'll have an opportunity next week to talk about a lot of these things."

Snow said "The approach to the way forward, understanding that sectarian violence had risen to absolutely unacceptable levels, and that two attempts with Baghdad plans had not addressed it adequately, the idea is, you need to take a very clear and fresh look and incorporating as many points of view as possible so you get this right. So the ultimate objective here is not to engage in sparring, but to engage in an open dialogue with people on both sides of the aisle."

Meantime, The Guardian Unlimited just reported that "President Bush is to announce this week that up to 30,000 extra troops will be thrown into the battle for Baghdad."

Previous Stories:
  Bush exploring new Iraq military plan   (12/30/2006)
  Iran calls for US policy change in Iraq, hints at assistance   (12/16/2006)
  Differing US views on US strategy for Iraq   (12/9/2006)

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