Clinton's Letter to Bush: No Permanent Bases in Iraq

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Tue Nov-27-07 07:09 PM
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Clinton's Letter to Bush: No Permanent Bases in Iraq

Source: Talking Points Memo

November 27, 2007

The Honorable George W. Bush

The White House

Washington , D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I write with great concern over the text of the Declaration of Principles for a Long-Term Relationship of Cooperation and Friendship Between the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America that the White House released yesterday. I am particularly concerned that this document did not contain any explicit reference or language that indicates that the United States will not seek and will not maintain permanent military bases in Iraq. Moreover, the document's failure to note any intent to begin the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq is a missed opportunity to pressure Iraq's leaders to make the compromises necessary to achieve political reconciliation in Iraq.

As you know, in 2006, Congress explicitly passed a restriction on the use of any funds to establish any military installation or base for the permanent stationing of United States Forces in Iraq. However, the Declaration of Principles that you signed with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki does not explicitly rule out permanent U.S. bases in Iraq. Rather, the Declaration instead calls for agreements between the two governments "with respect to the political, cultural, economic, and security spheres" to be achieved by July 2008. Indeed, press reports indicate that Lieutenant General Douglas Lute, your coordinator for Iraq policy, stated, "It's too soon to tell" what shape and size the future U.S. military relationship with Iraq would take. Given the express will of Congress and the American people to oppose permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq, the failure to include express language addressing this issue in the Declaration of Principles with the Iraqi government is deeply troubling. To be clear, attempts to establish permanent bases in Iraq would damage U.S. interests in Iraq and the broader region, and I will continue to strongly oppose such efforts.

Furthermore, the Declaration of Principles does not reference any agreement to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. When you first announced the escalation of U.S. troops earlier this year, the ostensible purpose was to provide the Iraqis with the "breathing space" to achieve political reconciliation. By any meaningful measurement, that political reconciliation has not yet occurred. The absence of any reference to a redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq in the Declaration of Principles is a missed opportunity to put pressure on the Iraqis to engage in the compromises necessary for political reconciliation.

I urge you to clarify the Declaration of Principles with the Iraqi government to confirm that the United States does not plan to place any permanent bases within Iraq and instead plans to begin the phased redeployment of U.S. troops. Such a clarification would make clear to the citizens of both nations that the U.S. military presence in Iraq is temporary and encourage Iraqi political leaders to make greater efforts towards political reconciliation.

Thank you for your consideration

Sincerely yours,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

cc: The Honorable Condoleezza Rice

The Honorable Robert Gates

The Honorable Stephen Hadley

Lt. General Douglas Lute

No link yet.

Obama and other Democratic candidates have issued the same type of statements insisting on no permanent military bases in Iraq.