October 30, 2007

By Eman Al-Awadhi 

KUWAIT, Oct 30 (KUNA) --

Arabic version: http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1852978&Language=ar 

Violence has gone down "tremendously" in Iraq and developments have been "much more encouraging" in the last few months than prior of the surge of troops, said US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker.

In an exclusive interview, he told KUNA, "There has been substantial progress in Iraq over the past several months. We have seen young Sunnis in Anbar Province turn against Al-Qaeda, fight to recover their homes and to take control over their own lives." He added that thanks to the surge of troops, violence was down in Baghdad and security progress could be seen in Diyala, areas around the capital, Saladdin, and in other parts of the country.

"No one can say that the crisis is over. It's certainly true that developments have been much more encouraging in the last few months than prior to the surge," he noted.
Crocker said, however, that while young Iraqis stepped up to fight against Al-Qaeda and extremists and not for them, it was important that there be "a way to connect them to their own government." "We work very closely with the Iraqi government to see that these young men are brought into positions with the police and the army, or simply into stable, steady civilian jobs so that they have an income ... and through that process to have some connection with their own government." Employment, he explained, was the "reasonable assurance" that these young men would not go back to violent activities they were involved in. "It's going to take a lot more work, but I think the Iraqis are on the right path," he said.

In response to a question on the handing over of security in Karbala to local authorities and how ready Iraqis were to enforce order, Crocker said, "I think that what we're seeing in Karbala - the transfer of security authority to the provincial government - is an example of how this system should work." He explained that while Iraqis "need to take control of their own security, " this needed to be done "in a careful, measured way." Iraqis now have a primary responsibility for security in the province, but coalition forces, although not present "in the front," could still be called on for help if needed, he said.

On the effectiveness of the Baghdad security plan, the ambassador said, "When I arrived in Iraq in March of this year, the violence in Baghdad was really horrendous. We have seen it drop as the Baghdad security plan has taken effect to be a fraction of what it was at the beginning of the year." He added, "Now, there is a lot more work to be done to ensure that Iraqi forces can maintain security that we and they have fought so hard to achieve, and we'll be pressed. We're certainly not talking about pulling troops out of sensitive areas anytime soon. The Iraqis know they can count on us to be there to support and to assist as they develop their own capabilities." Asked to describe the political situation in Iraq and efforts to push for conciliation, the ambassador said that as levels of violence began to come down and security was established in certain parts of the country, changes could be seen in the political atmosphere.

Encouraging indications of this, he said, were such visits as those by the Vice President Tareq Al-Hashemi, a Sunni, to Najaf to pay a call on Ali Al-Sistani, and a visit by Ammar Al-Hakim, the acting leader of the larger Shiite political movement, to Ramadi to meet with the Sunni tribal elders of Anbar.

"These steps would have been impossible three or four months ago - there was simply too much tension and too much violence," he noted. Moreover, he said such contacts would lead to "a political rapprochement" where political groups could take a step back and look at common interests, new alignments and ways of moving forward.

"Again, there is a great distance to go, but ... we are seeing gestures of reconciliation that simply were not present even a few months ago," he added.

-- And in response to a question on the progress report made by Ambassador Crocker and Commander of the Coalition Forces in Iraq General David Petraeus, he said, "We felt and recommended to the president, and the president decided that conditions in Iraq - improvements in security - made it possible to withdraw some forces over the next nine to ten months," he explained.

The withdrawals were scheduled through July 2008, but would "still leave a very substantial number of American forces in Iraq." "We want to be very careful about this. We do want to withdraw our forces, obviously, and the Iraqis want to assume responsibility for their own security. But we have an obligation, I think, to be sure that when we do withdraw we are not creating potential for new violence and new instability. We want to leave Iraq peaceful, secure and able to maintain that security with its own forces," Crocker said.

When asked to describe aspects of progress in Iraq, he said, "We are seeing some economic progress; the ability of these central governments to develop and execute its budget and to make budgetary resources available to the provinces has improved significantly." He said there was more economic and business activity, again as levels of violence dropped.

Crocker said, however, that "national-level political initiatives" were needed. "We need to see national legislation passed in areas such as provincial powers, de-Baathification reform, and hydrocarbon legislation ... these are important to the larger national reconciliation process." He added, "While good things have been happening, and happening fast, at the (political, economic and security) levels in the districts of Baghdad and the villages of Anbar, national-level progress has been somewhat disappointing and we need to see stronger, more focused efforts from the Iraqi government."

Meanwhile, asked about the situation in northern Iraq where Turkish authorities threatened to execute an incursion to put an end to attacks by members of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), he said, "Coalition forces are not present in the northern areas; we've got a lot to do elsewhere and we're really not in a position to put troops into that area." He said his government had been working very hard with both the Iraqis and the Turks "to try to calm down the tensions and find some ways that can eliminate the ability of the PKK to carry out terrorist attacks into Turkey, but still preserve stability in this very sensitive region." Crocker said that the US had informed Turkey that it understood their "outrage," and in fact "we (the US) share it."

The ambassador expressed his country's belief that "no country should be subjected to terrorist attacks from the soil of another." He reiterated his country's stance that "a cross-border military operation is not going to solve the problem for Turkey or for anyone else ... it would simply add a number of risks and complications ... and military action in these circumstances, we think, will have very negative consequences."

And in response to a question on sanctions imposed on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, he said, "We hope that the in-position, new sanctions will have a positive impact, most importantly, in causing Iranians to think about their behavior because what the Revolutionary Guard has been doing - particularly its Quds Force elements - in Iraq has been dangerously destabilizing."

He warned, "These kinds of destabilizing actions by Iran are dangerous to Iraq's future and are dangerous to Iran's own long-term interests. Iran should want to see a stable, democratic Iraq that will never threaten its neighbors, and that would never do to Iran what Saddam (Hussein) did."

The ambassador expressed hope that such measures as these sanctions and a stronger, more focused international effort against Iran "will bring out changes in Iranians behavior and Iranian policy, including changes with respect to their efforts to acquire nuclear weapons - that needs to stop. We want to stop it by diplomatic and political means, not by military means, just as we want to see their negative action in Iraq stopped, again by the same means." Crocker was appointed his country's ambassador in Baghdad in March 2007. He was ambassador to Kuwait in 1994-1997. (end)

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