[Peace-discuss] Just Foreign Policy News, January 12, 2007

[Robert Naiman]

Just Foreign Policy News
January 12, 2007
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/newsroom/blog/

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Summary:
U.S./Top News
President Bush's speech Wednesday was less about Iraq than about Iran,
writes Trita Parsi. There was little new about the US's strategy in
Iraq, but on Iran, the President spelled out a plan that appears to be
aimed at goading Iran into war with the US.

President Bush's call to increase the American military commitment in
Iraq ran into intense Congressional opposition Thursday from Democrats
and from moderate Republicans, the New York Times reports.  Senator
Biden issued a sharp warning after Defense Secretary Gates discussed
recent raids against Iranians in Iraq, and described them as part of a
new effort "to root out the networks" involved in bringing
Iranian-supplied explosive devices into Iraq. Biden responded by
saying that the vote to authorize the president to order the use of
force to topple Saddam Hussein should not be used as a vehicle for
mounting attacks inside Iran, even in pursuit of cells or networks
assisting insurgents or sectarian militias. "I would like to have a
legal response from the State Department if they think they have
authority to pursue networks or anything else across the border into
Iran and Iraq that will generate a constitutional confrontation here
in the Senate," Biden said.

Lawmakers said they have little confidence that the Iraqi government
has the capacity to deliver on promises to take the lead in cracking
down on violent militias and providing security in Baghdad, the
Washington Post reports.

Senator Dodd accused the administration of letting American soldiers
be used as "cannon fodder," the New York Times reports. Senator Bill
Nelson, a former supporter of administration policy, said he could no
longer back the president.

Seventy percent of Americans oppose sending more troops to Iraq, AP
reports. Just 35 percent of Americans think it was right for the US to
go to war.

The commitment of 21,500 more troops is a political gimmick of limited
tactical significance and of no strategic benefit, writes Zbigniew
Brzezinski in the Washington Post. The decision to escalate U.S.
military involvement while imposing "benchmarks" on the Iraqi regime,
and to emphasize the threat posed by Syria and Iran, leaves the
administration with two options once it becomes clear that the
benchmarks are not being met. One option is to adopt the policy of
"blame and run." The other alternative, perhaps already lurking in the
back of Bush's mind, is to widen the conflict by taking military
action against Syria or Iran. The speech did not explore even the
possibility of developing a framework for an eventual political
solution.

The Pentagon announced steps Thursday to make more reservists
available for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan by changing the policies
that govern how often members of the Army National Guard and Reserve
can be mobilized, the New York Times reports. The new rules mean that
individual Guard members and entire units that have already been
deployed in the last five years may be called up again for as long as
24 consecutive months.

Demonstrators  staged protests from Melbourne to Washington on
Thursday against the U.S. military prison in Cuba where terrorism
suspects have been held for years without trial, Reuters reports.

Iran
The Iraqi foreign minister said Friday that the five Iranians detained
by U.S.-led forces in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq were working in
a liaison office that had government approval and was in the process
of being approved as a consulate, AP reports.

The attack on the Iranian diplomatic office was denounced by senior
Kurdish officials, who regarded the action as an affront to their
sovereignty, the New York Times reports. The incident was a major
embarrassment for the Iraqi government, and calls into question the
extent of Iraqi control over its own affairs. Local residents said the
main function of the office was to process papers for people who want
to go to Iran for visits or medical treatment.

Iraq
Iraq's government offered only a grudging endorsement Thursday of
President Bush's proposal to deploy more than 20,000 additional troops
in Iraq, the New York Times reports. The tepid response raised
questions about whether the government would make a good-faith effort
to prosecute the new war plan.

Britain said Thursday that it would not follow the US in raising troop
levels there and signaled that it would proceed with plans to hand
over security responsibilities to Iraqi forces in the south, the New
York Times reports.

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Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org