Archives » Thursday, January 22, 2009
-
Larry Kaplow
|
Jan 22, 2009 03:51 PM
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, admittedly worn out from years on
the intense diplomatic front lines since September 11, 2001, gave his
last press conference to the Baghdad Western press corps today. He
reiterated that America needs to stick with the effort in Iraq lest the
country slide back into turmoil.
Crocker came to Iraq in March, 2007,
near the height of the country's violence, and can be credited with
playing a key behind-the-scenes role in pushing along the country's
turbulent political development as the military helped quell the
violence. He noted that since 9/11 he has at one time or another been
chief of the U.S. missions in embassies in Kabul, Islamabad and Baghdad.
At
59 years old, he is headed for retirement in Washington state when he
leaves his post next month. "My plan is to have no plan," he said,
explaining that the "pace and pressures" of this job have precluded him
from giving sufficient thought to his next move. He's reputed to have
joked that he won't inflict a memoir on the public--but it could be a
good one. He's been present for some of the pivotal moments in the
region, speaks Arabic and Farsi, and probably has the best
on-the-ground feel for today's Middle East of any American diplomat.
He wouldn't say what advice he gave President Barack Obama in a call yesterday
but his assessment with reporters was upbeat, noting Iraq's improved security
and stability. Like other U.S. officials, he called the situation in Iraq
"fragile" but said he would amend the phrase to "still fragile" to emphasize
that progress has been great.
But
many of his comments stressed the need for America to keep working hard
in Iraq. He said that among Iraqis, traumatized by decades of tyranny
and the violence since that tyranny ended, "fear is pervasive." It
implies that the factions are still distrustful and can find easy
justification for striking out. It means that there must be a
settlement over the ongoing questions of self-governance in areas
disputed between Arabs and Kurds.
On a subtopic, Crocker raised
a point of growing concern here, the increasingly alarming problems
with what the embassy calls "rule of law." This covers the worsening
track record of the Iraqi government for detaining people without
charges or for political reasons, intimidation of the courts, and the
rampant corruption that undermines credibility in the system.
He
said he trusts Obama's commitment to a "responsible" withdrawal. But
when asked what would be the results of a too-quick pullout he said it
could lead the different sides to retreat into fear and start preparing
their arsenals for another round of bloodshed. The effort to make Iraq
stable is slow going. "There is still a substantial distance to go and
I think that distance will be covered by chipping it out," he said.
"It's going to be three yards at a time. I don't see that long
touchdown pass." Later he shied off a question of what the war's legacy
will be for the region. "We're at a very encouraging, hopeful point but
not a culminating point by any means," he said.
More
