“We fully respect the sovereignty of Iraq,” said Delahunt. “But the legitimacy of the Iraqi government is derived from the free expression of the will of its own people. Because of our invasion of Iraq, the United States has a moral responsibility to help the Iraqi people repair their own nation, and honest, transparent elections are a key factor in that successful recovery.”
In a letter co-signed by the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Howard Berman (D-CA) and the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East, Gary Ackerman (D-NY), the Members urged the White House to take several steps to help prevent the voting from resulting in a debacle similar to recent elections in Iran and Afghanistan.
In recent weeks a number of concerns have been raised about the elections, particularly after a commission – engineered by Ahmed Chalabi, a convicted criminal who reportedly fed the U.S. false intelligence before the invasion of Iraq – called for the banning of several parties and politicians considered rivals to the current government. Although the ban was overturned today by an Iraqi court, there are other potential problems that – coupled with ongoing terrorist attacks and simmering religious and ethnic tensions – could be the spark that provokes Iraqis’ political differences to explode into more widespread violence.
Of particular concern to Delahunt and his colleagues is that this potential chaos could happen while the U.S. continues the withdrawal of its combat forces from Iraq under a plan negotiated and signed by the George W. Bush Administration.
“President Bush made a commitment to withdraw American forces from Iraq, and President Obama is implementing that agreement,” explained Delahunt. “We must be clear that the results of the election will not impact the pace of our withdrawal. At the same time, we recognize that we have an obligation to Iraq’s people to ensure that we do not leave them worse off than they were before we invaded, so we must do all we can to ensure that these elections are free and fair.”
In addition to Delahunt, Berman, and Ackerman, other signatories to the letter include: Donald M. Payne (D-NJ), Russ Carnahan (D-MO), John S. Tanner (D-TN), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) Barbara Lee (D-CA), Brad Miller (D-NC), Keith Ellison (D-MN), James Moran (D-VA), Edward Markey (D-MA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Bob Filner (D-CA), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), John Tierney (D-MA), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT), John Olver (D-MA), Niki Tsongas (D-MA), David Price (D-NC), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), and Richard E. Neal (D-MA).
To read the letter, please click here.
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