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Ambassador
vanden Heuvel has served as Deputy U.S. Permanent Representative to the
United Nations and as U.S. Ambassador to the European Office of the U.N.
An international lawyer, he is also Senior Advisor to Allen and Company,
a New York investment banking firm.
Ambassador
vanden Heuvel has served as President of the International Rescue Committee, as
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the United Nations Association of the
United States of America, and as Chairman of the New York City Board of
Correction.
A
graduate of the Cornell University Law School, he was Editor-in-Chief of the
Cornell Law Review and later served as Executive Assistant to General William J.
“Wild Bill” Donovan, Special Counsel to Governor Averell Harriman and
Assistant to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.
Ambassador
vanden Heuvel is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Founder and Chair
Emeritus of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, Co-Chair of the
Council of American Ambassadors, and Vice-Chair of the World Federation of
United Nations Associations. He is a Contributor to MaximsNews
Network.
NEW
DIRECTION IN IRAQ: 30 August 2007
(MaximsNews
Network)
UNITED
NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / - 30
August 2007 –
To end the war in Iraq as soon as possible, consistent with
American security interests and international commitments of morality and
humanity, is our national objective and obligation.
General Petraeus
will undoubtedly report military progress in securing vital areas of Iraq, a
situation that could well prevail as long as U.S. forces not only attack but
police their gains.
The
President’s intelligence advisors have told him that there’s been little
political progress to date, and they are very pessimistic on the chances for
political progress in the future.
Yet,
everyone involved in the Iraq war knows that a military solution alone will
not accomplish our objectives.
A
political/diplomatic effort, probably involving the nations of the region, is
essential to contain the violence and begin the long journey to self-rule that
the Iraqis must undertake.
Civil
war, sectarian violence, a climate of hate and revenge must be countered by
the possibility of a new social contract, a power-sharing agreement, that
assures majority and minority rights, that protects Iraq’s oil wealth so
that it serves all of its people, that returns a sense of respect for
individual citizens, for the country, for its leaders and national
institutions.
To
accomplish the single most important goal of ending the violence will require
the urgent involvement of the world’s most skilled diplomats, individuals
who have the respect and confidence of the contending factions.
The
possibility of such mediation has been made available to us through Bernard
Kouchner’s recent visit to Baghdad, the first to Iraq by a French official
since the invasion in 2003.
Kouchner
is France’s foreign minister, an unexpected but brilliant appointment by
President Sarkozy. He is the only major leader of the Left
who supported President Bush’s decision to invade Iraq in order to forcibly
remove Saddam Hussein from power.
A
founder of Doctors Without Borders and a former UN administrator in Kosovo,
his humanitarian and political achievements are of the highest rank.
He has credibility in the region. He has known Iraqi religious and
political leaders for decades.
The
United States
as an occupying power in a hostile land cannot be the mediator of this
conflict but its presence and its acknowledged role as a Superpower assures
its ability to prevent any agreement inimical to its legitimate interests.
We
should encourage Bernard Kouchner in this role, express our confidence in him
as an honest broker, invite him to begin discussions and negotiations in which
we will participate as he believes helpful to his mission.
There
is one other person who could make Kouchner’s mission promising – that is
the UN presence that would be assured by the designation of Lakhdar Brahimi as
its representative in these talks.
Brahimi,
a profoundly respected international diplomat, admired as well by American
leaders who have worked with him, can be a major factor in the mediating
discussions.
The
United States
must take a chance on peace. We cannot dictate its terms
and we are too compromised by four years of brutal war to be accepted for the
needed role.
Let
us welcome Kouchner and Brahimi as negotiators whom we respect and give them
our support in recommending a solution that would end the violence and enable
a new beginning.
America’s
interests cannot be harmed by this leap of faith.
The
President could designate a special group to interface as necessary with
Kouchner/Brahimi – a group that included General Petraeus, Ambassadors
Crocker and Khalilizad and could include James Baker, Lee Hamilton, Brent
Scowcroft, Richard Holbrooke, Ann Marie Slaughter, and Donald McHenry – all
persons with substantial international experience who know how to work with
the White House.
The
greatest gift President Bush can give his countrymen and his successor before
he leaves office is an honorable peace in
Iraq.
Kouchner
and Brahimi have a better chance of finding a successful formula than anyone
otherwise available.
Our
allies – and our enemies – know that the
United States
is not able to end the violence in Iraq by itself. Recognizing
that, France and Kouchner offer us an immediate possibility of exploring new
directions.
The
solution may be complicated, the effort may ultimately fail but we cannot
permit the opportunity to pass without having encouraged and supported it.
Labels:
United
Nations, U.N., MaximsNews,
William
J. vanden Heuvel, Iraq
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