WASHINGTON — A bipartisan proposal for a U.S. reconciliation with
Iran and Syria has been met with skepticism in Congress.
Several members of the House and Senate said the Iraq Study Group,
co-chaired by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Rep. Lee
Hamilton, ignored the nuclear and missile threat from Iran and Syria in
recommendations for U.S. engagement with the two Middle East
countries. They said Iran and Syria remain intractable foes of the United
States and seek to destabilize the Middle East.
"Our interests in Iraq diverge significantly from those of Damascus and
Teheran, and this is unlikely to change under the current regimes," Sen.
John McCain, an Arizona Republican and a leading contender for the
presidency, said.
McCain expressed opposition to ISG deadlines for a U.S. military
withdrawal. The senator has called for another 20,000 troops to help fight
the insurgency in Iraq, Middle East Newsline reported.
"If U.S. forces begin a pullout, we risk all-out civil war and the
potential for region-wide conflict," McCain said. "I believe this [ISG
report] is a recipe that will lead to our defeat sooner or later in Iraq."
On Thursday, President George Bush did not rule out U.S. negotiations
with Iran and Syria. But Bush said Iran must first suspend its nuclear
enrichment program and Syria must stop trying to destabilize the government
of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.
"These countries have now got the choice to make," Bush said. "If they
want to sit down at the table with the United States, it's easy. Just make
some decisions that will lead to peace, not to conflict."
On Thursday, the ISG report was discussed in the Senate Armed Services
Committee. Several committee members questioned the recommendation of a U.S.
effort to provide incentives for Iran and Syria to help stabilize Iraq.
"I'm skeptical that it's realistic to think that Iran wants to help the
United States succeed in Iraq," Sen. Joseph Lieberman said.
Rep. Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat from Hawaii, went further.
Abercrombie, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, termed
the ISG report "theater" and "devoid of any basis in reality."
"The practical realities of these empty recommendations will be clear
when we try to implement any of this stuff," Abercrombie told the Washington
Post on Friday.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, agreed. Graham
said Iran and Syria would never agree to a democratic Iraq.
"I don't mind talking to anybody, but you'll never convince me that the
ayatollahs in Iran want a representative democracy that allows people of
religious differences to live together," Graham said. "You'll never convince
me that the dictatorship in Syria would like to have a representative
democracy in their backyard, where people can elect their leaders."
Instead, Graham suggested that Bush appoint Baker as an envoy to Syria.
The senator said Baker's job should be to transform Damascus into a U.S.
ally.
"I'm for making Jim Baker an envoy to Syria," Graham said. "If we can
flip Syria, let's do it. But please be realistic with who we're dealing
with. The Iranians are the problem, not the solution, and what we should be
talking with them about is not Iraq, is about their nuclear program."
Graham also disputed ISG recommendations for Israel to withdraw from the
Golan Heights as part of an effort to woo Syria. ISG asserted that the war
in Iraq was linked to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
"Solving the Israeli-Palestinian problem would help us in the region and
the world," Graham said. "But the people who attacked us on 9/11 had -- they
didn't attack us because of the Palestinian problem, they attacked us
because they have a religious view that has no place for anybody else other
than them."
Outgoing House Majority Leader John Boehner also expressed opposition to
U.S. efforts to woo Iran and Syria. Boehner, regarded as a conservative and
close to Bush, also disputed ISG's deadline for a U.S. pullout from Iraq.
"We will not accomplish victory by setting arbitrary deadlines or
negotiating with hostile governments," Boehner said.
A former ISG member, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, resigned
from the panel after he was said to have determined that its recommendations
would be politicized. Giuliani, regarded as a likely candidate for the
Republican Party presidential nomination in 2008, said he opposed the link
between Iraq and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
"Israel and Palestine is an important issue," Giuliani said. Sometimes
it's used as an excuse to deal with underlying issues. But the reality here
is that the Islamo-fundamentalist terrorists are at war with our way of
life, with our modern world, with rights for women, religious freedom,
societies that have religious freedom. And all of that would still exist, no
matter what happens in Israel and Palestine."
