Monday, 11th January 2010
Report on visit to Washington
Programme of Meetings
Meetings on Thursday 7 January
10:00 – 11:00 - Meeting in the Hotel
Mr Bernd Debusmann
World Affairs Columnist
Reuters News
12:00 – 13:00 - Meeting on Capitol Hill
Mr Michael J Delaney
Staff Director
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Ms Iram A Ali
Professional Staff Member
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
14:00 – 14:20 - Conference call
Congressman Ed Royce
Ranking Member of the Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade Subcommittee
14:30 to 15:30 - Meeting in the White House
Ms Herro K Mustafa
Senior Advisor for the Middle East and South Asia
Office of the Vice President
Ms Sumona Guha
Senior Advisor for Europe and Eurasia
Office of the Vice President
16:30 – 18:15 - Meeting in the State Department
Mr D Purnell Delly
Director, Office of Iraq Affairs
Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
Mr Edward G Stafford
Director, Political Military Affairs
Office of Iraq Affairs
Mr Stephen M Epstein
Deputy Director for Political-Military Affairs
Iraq Office
Ms Zoja Deretic
Desk Officer for the Office of European Union and Regional Affairs
Ms Susan A Notar
Iraq Desk Officer
Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
Mr Kyle T Peterson
Office of Iraq Economic and Assistance Affairs Desk Officer
Meetings on Friday 8 January
11:00 – 12:00 - Meeting at Washington Times
Mr Brett M Decker
Managing Editor
Editorial & Opinion Pages
Mr James S Robbins
Senior Fellow in National Security Affairs
American Foreign Policy Council
Mr Quinn Hillyer
Senior Editorial Writer
12:30 – 13:15 - Meeting at Wall Street Journal
Mr John Bussey
Washington Bureau Chief
Mr Jay Solomon
Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent
Mr Peter Spiegel
Senior National Security Correspondent
14:00 – 14:45 - Meeting in the State Department
Ms Shari Villarosa
Deputy Coordinator for Regional Affairs
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism
16:00 – 16:45 - Meeting in the Senate Office
Mr Richard W Harper
Legislative Assistant
Senator Dianne Feinstein
17:30 – 18:30 - Meeting at the White House
Mr Peter H Vrooman
Director for Iraq
National Security Staff
National Security Council
19:00 – 19:30 – conference call with Congressman Dana Rohrabacher
Ranking Member of the International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
Contact was also made with the following with a view to arranging meetings for future visit is:-
Mr Dennis Ross
Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for the Central Region (Middle East, the Gulf, Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Asia)
Congressman Howard Berman
Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
Introduction
This short report is intended to provide a brief summary of Mr Struan Stevenson’s visit to Washington between 7 and 8 January 2010 in which he held meetings with various US officials and press/media. The purpose of Mr Stevenson’s visit to Washington was to discuss with US officials and law makers various pressing issues concerning Iraq, including the Iraqi elections due to take place in early March and the Iranian regime’s malign influence in Iraq.
This report provides brief summaries of Mr Stevenson’s meetings at the White House and in the State Department. It focuses in particular on important issues that arose in Mr Stevenson’s meeting with the Iraq Office of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department.
Meeting at the White House with Ms Herro Mustafa, Senior Advisor for the Middle East and South Asia, Office of the Vice President
Mr Stevenson informed Ms Mustafa of his role as President of the EP’s delegation for relations with Iraq. He also informed her of the Delegation’s cancelled visit to Iraq and the invitation to Iraqi leaders to visit Brussels for talks prior to the Iraqi elections. Mr Stevenson and Ms Mustafa agreed on two major achievements concerning the Iraqi elections, including the agreement for open lists and an equal vote for Iraqi expatriates. They also agreed on the need to end the Iranian regime’s meddling in Iraqi affairs.
Ms Mustafa expressed surprise that the Delegation’s visit to Baghdad had been cancelled. However, she asked Mr Stevenson to make clear to Iraqi leaders in his meetings with them in Brussels that they must ensure that (i) the elections are credible, and (ii) the alliance that comes to power is all inclusive.
Mr Stevenson shared with Ms Mustafa his view that the EU was unlikely to be sending election monitors to Iraq. Ms Mustafa expressed concern and asked Mr Stevenson to raise this issue with Mr Michael Corbyn at the State Department.
Mr Stevenson also informed Ms Mustafa about the EP’s April 2009 resolution concerning Camp Ashraf. He expressed his shock at the deadly assault on Camp Ashraf in July 2009 and his concern about the continued threat of forcible displacement of Ashraf’s residents. Ms Mustafa informed Mr Stevenson of US interventions in respect of the situation in Camp Ashraf.
Mr Stevenson and Ms Mustafa also discussed the uprising in Iran, which had taken many by surprise. At the end of the meeting, Ms Mustafa thanked Mr Stevenson for taking the time to visit Washington and asked him to stay in contact with her regarding Iraq.
Meeting at the State Department with the Iraq Office of the Bureau of Near East Affairs
Mr Stevenson informed the Iraq Office of his role as President of the EP’s delegation for relations with Iraq. He also informed them of the Delegation’s cancelled visit to Iraq and the invitation to Iraqi leaders to visit Brussels for talks prior to the Iraqi elections. Mr Stevenson and the Iraq Office agreed on two major achievements concerning the Iraqi elections, including the agreement for open lists and an equal vote for Iraqi expatriates. However, it was the view of the Iraq Office that out of country voting would not have a material impact on the outcome of the elections.
Mr Stevenson referred to the urgent need to end the Iranian regime’s meddling in Iraq. He drew attention in particular to the following;-
(i) the evidence that has emerged, including from General Petraeus, concerning the Iranian regime being responsible for the kidnapping of the British IT expert, Peter Moore, and his four bodyguards, which illustrates the extent to which the regime has infiltrated Iraq
(ii) the evidence given to the Iraq Commission by David Horgan, the CEO of Petrel Resources, that to work on oilfields in the south of Iraq and Anbar province, his company required the blessing of the Iranian regime’s oil ministry, otherwise the company’s staff would be at risk; and
(iii) the Iranian regime’s assault on the Fakkeh oil field.
The Iraq Office accepted that the Iranian regime is a serious security threat in Iraq. They sponsor groups responsible for the killing of many Americans. However, at the same time there is a lot of scepticism amongst the Iraqi public about the Iranian regime’s interference in Iraq. The Iranian regime’s taking of Iraqi oilfields in Fakkeh has aroused Iraqi national sentiment. This sentiment will continue to grow the more the regime tries to dictate the game in Iraq.
They discussed the recent deadly attacks in Iraq and responsibility for those attacks. The attacks have targeted government centres of gravity the ‘Sons of Iraq’ and Sunnis in Anbar province.
The Iraq Office spoke of the need for Iraq to have a broadly inclusive government. This is a real opportunity for Iraqis to prove to their neighbours, the region and the world that they have a democratic system in place. Moreover, the US has made clear to the Iraqis that US forces will withdraw down to 50,000 troops by August and will leave by 31 December 2011. This is certain and will not change. The Iraqi government therefore has to get the elections right, otherwise they will have to sort out the mess themselves.
There was also discussion about the performance of the Iraqi security services and the fact that as the Iraqi civilian security forces provide better security for Iraqi cities, the Iraqi military can go back to deterring external aggressors. Mr Stevenson and the Iraq Office also spoke about concerns regarding the Iraqi economy, which is a state economy and does not really have a private sector.
Mr Stevenson raised his concerns regarding the situation in Camp Ashraf. He referred to the EP’s April 2009 resolution concerning Camp Ashraf and expressed anger that the views of the EU had been ignored and instead a vicious assault had taken place. The Iraq Office made clear that the US has been very active in respect of this issue and they have made clear to the Iraqi government that the use of violence against the residents of Ashraf is unacceptable. Moreover, it damaged the reputation of Iraq internationally. These interventions led to the way the Iraqis dealt with the residents of Camp Ashraf on 15 December. The Iraq Office asked Mr Stevenson to ensure that the EU is taking every opportunity to make clear forcefully to the Iraqis that the world is closely watching what they are doing regarding the case of Ashraf.
In respect of Iran, Mr Stevenson raised the need to coordinate sanctions across the Atlantic.
The last part of the meeting focussed on the upcoming Iraqi elections and the possibility that the EP might not send election monitors to Iraq. Mr Stevenson explained the EP’s concerns relate to provision of security for the election monitors. The Iraq Office stressed the importance of the EP sending election monitors to Iraq. The Iraq Office urged Mr Stevenson to resolve this issue at the highest levels of the EP upon his return. If he could secure EP monitors for the election, they would make a very strong case for US forces to provide security for any EP monitors while in Iraq. Mr Stevenson agreed to follow up on this matter.
Meeting at the State Department with Ms Shari Villarosa, Deputy Coordinator for Regional Affairs, Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism
This meeting focussed on similar issues to those raised in the previous meetings. Three additional issues that were discussed included the sudden exclusion of Saleh Mutlak and other Iraqi Parliamentarians from the Iraqi elections, the flair up of tension between the Yemeni government and the regime in Iran, and the referral of the cases of five supporters of the PMOI who had been arrested during the Ashura protests to the regime’s Revolutionary Court, which would lead to their execution.
Mr Stevenson highlighted the fact that the exclusion of Saleh al-Mutlak coincided with the Iranian Foreign Minister’s visit to Iraq and was a further indication of the Iranian regime’s interference in Iraqi internal affairs.
Ms Villarosa said that the US has serious counterterrorism concerns regarding Iran. There is its support for Hezbollah and Hamas. There are also AQ members in Iran. While AQ and the Iranian regime do not share much in common, they do have a common aim to hurt the US. Mr Stevenson also raised the issue of the US intention to apply new sanctions to the Iranian regime. Ms Villarosa said the US will cooperate with the EU to find sanctions that will bite and to ensure such new sanctions are enforced.
In respect of Camp Ashraf, Ms Villarosa said that the embassy in Iraq has done everything it can to protect the people of Ashraf and ensure their rights are fully respected. She said they will continue to do so.
Mr Stevenson and Ms Villarosa then spoke about the uprising in Iran and the courage of the protesters. Everyone who believes in freedom and basic liberties is watching developments in Iran very carefully. They agreed that the inability of the regime to stop the protests is significant and that with each subsequent demonstration the regime is getting weaker.
Meeting at the White House with Mr Peter Vrooman, Director for Iraq, National Security Staff, National Security Council
The meeting focussed on similar issues to those raised in the previous meetings. Mr Vrooman is very knowledgeable in respect of Iraq and so he spoke at length with Mr Stevenson about the Iraqi economy and the reconstruction efforts in Iraq. There was also some discussion about the need for the EU and US to cooperate on the PR model to follow in respect of their efforts and use of vast amounts of taxpayers’ money in rebuilding Iraq.
Mr Vrooman also expressed his view that the federal system could work in Iraq and the need to encourage the Kurds to understand the benefits of a federal system.
