Bill Frist Update from Iraq
Sunday, January 9, 2005
11:30 p.m.
Yesterday was spent in Iraq.
I was last in Iraq seven months ago. Paul Bremer was the administrator then. Prime Minister Allawi (a medical doctor) had just been appointed Prime Minister, but the handover to the Interim Iraqi Government had not yet taken place. Since then there have been many changes -- some very positive, others discouragingly negative.
The most remarkable experience of our journey was the spontaneous appearance we made to join PM Allawi at a "town meeting" of approximately 150 Sunni sheiks. Allawi had invited the sheiks, all from the Sunni triangle, to present their views to him in an open forum; he, in turn, asked us to participate. Most of the Sunnis attending believed (at least at the beginning of the meeting) that the elections scheduled for January 30 should be postponed. They spoke dramatically and painfully of the insurgents' intimidation. They said voter turnout would be low in an election that was already likely to result in a very minor role for Sunnis in the elected government of Iraq. As our Senate delegation of 5 sat before the body on a large sofa alongside the Prime Minister, subjected to the Sheik's spirited and passionate presentations and debates -- and often conflicting views -- from throughout the hall, one couldn't help but to realize how far Iraq had come since the fall of Saddam! This was democracy in action! Unlike before, open debate, freedom of speech, and respectful discourse all played out in the presence of a very patient and respectful prime minister -- a contrast to the intolerant and oppressive days of Saddam Hussein. I doubt the sheiks recognized the contradiction, that while they harangued the U.S. for mistakes we made since Baghdad's fall, they failed to acknowledge the freedoms we brought them. It's still very early and no one can know the ultimate outcome of the elections in Iraq, but Iraq is moving down the road to democracy and freedom, albeit quite violently and haltingly. Halfway through the meeting, an explosion went off, rocking the hall -- apparently a mortar round that landed several meters away in the Green Zone. No one was injured, but it immediately set us into the realities of time and place.
Earlier in the day, we met with the United Nations elections coordinator. Carlos Valenzuela is an impressive man who has participated in 14 elections around the world in a similar capacity. He shared with us his belief that the elections at the end of the month will be "credible" because they would be both independent and consistent with international standards. It's his mission to make that determination, and he thinks this can and will be accomplished. The UN is not running the elections -- the Iraqis are -- but the coordinating role of the UN apparently has been by all counts been constructive and successful to date. The elections will not be pretty, to say the least. Insurgent activity is likely to increase over the coming weeks, and even continue after the elections for a period. But they will, for the first time in recent history, provide an opportunity for the Iraqi people to directly choose their own government; 275 individuals who will make up their assembly and who will ultimately write their constitution and choose their President. The elections are necessary to give legitimacy and responsibility directly to the Iraqi people. I see no reason to postpone the elections. They should go forward. They will go forward. The Iraqi people must speak and take responsibility. The time will never be easy. With those elections, if credible and independent (and only by having the elections can this be tested), terrorists around the world will have been dealt a terrible blow to their goal of creating an ungovernable Iraq open to tyranny and terrorism.
A final major observation from the trip is that real progress is being made by General Dave Petraeus in the training of the Iraqi military and police forces. It seems the plan is a few weeks behind the projected schedule, but given where the Iraqi forces were when I was last in Iraq six months ago, huge advances have been made. The Iraqi military and police now number 127,000 that have been trained and equipped. The quality and quantity are improving. Yes, there remain substantial problems and challenges but again we're moving in the right direction. As these Iraqi forces grow they will continue to assume the responsibilities of ensuring security for the Iraqi people and fighting the insurgents, activities that heretofore have fallen to the coalition and American forces. Over time, Americans and coalition forces will be replaced by these Iraqi soldiers. You see so many unusual and unexpected twists in the road. For example, Iraq is still strictly a cash society. It does not have banks. Every month Iraqi soldiers, by necessity, have to take leave to deliver their wages in cash in person to their families. Unfortunately the terrorists have found this an opportune time to attack the Iraqi soldiers. The terrorists intimidate and assassinate these soldiers indiscriminately. Such peculiar relationships between the banking system, the military, and the insurgents illustrate why at the same time the Iraqi military must be strengthened, the banking system (and all infrastructure) must be built from the bottom up -- all of which takes time and resources and, indeed, change in culture. This is the challenge. On a positive note I was surprised to learn how competitive it is for Iraqis to be admitted to their military and police. There is a long, long line of Iraqis who want to join the military, even in these times when the military personnel are being targeted by the insurgents.
And a final note. I talked to a number of our generals who are on the ground in Iraq right now. Not one of them said there are not enough American or coalition soldiers in Iraq now -- in spite of what the pundits and critics say.
So much more, but time to sign off. Will be meeting with the Prime Minister of India in New Delhi in the morning. A long way away.
Bill Frist |
