John HERBST: “Withdrawing troops from Iraq would be premature”

“A year has passed since the beginning of the Iraq War. Has the world become safer since then?”

“Iraq is no longer a threat to regional security. It is no longer a threat to world energy. The removal of Saddam Hussein removed a real threat to regional peace and world economic security. It also invoked justice on the world’s greatest human rights violator, Saddam Hussein. However, it is also clear for both the United States and the world in general that the war against terrorism will last for a long time. President Bush said that in his statements after the first terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. But it is clear for the United States and the world that the terrorists have also suffered major losses.”

“Recently a statement by former counter-terrorism adviser Richard Clarke was made public, accusing George Bush of ignoring the Al-Qaida threat. The previous year saw quite a number of such statements.”

“Regarding Richard Clarke, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice made a statement to the American press the weekend before last, explaining that we have actively addressed all factors concerning terrorism, and suggesting some reasons why Mr. Clarke chose to make public his accusations at this particular political moment. There is no need to say that there is no difference in the many opinions regarding the war against terror and the campaign in Iraq. But it’s critical to know that even the very prominent countries that had reservations about the initial decision to proceed in Iraq now clearly support making sure that peace is brought to Iraq and that terrorism does not win. In other words, they believe that the coalition’s goal is to stay with the course.”

“However, there are countries that have changed their opinion in the opposite direction. The Socialists that won the latest elections in Spain spoke about withdrawing their troops from Iraq. Do you think this position might cause a crisis in the anti-terrorist coalition?”

“As President Bush expressed in his phone talks with President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, we look forward to working with him and his government. We value Spain’s contribution to the coalition. Spanish forces are professional and stabilize the process. We look forward to working with the Spanish government on this and other issues concerning the fight against terrorism.

“Speaking about the coalition’s future, I think it’s premature and inappropriate to speak about a crisis. I think there is a general understanding internationally and in Europe on the need to stand against terror.”

“Many experts criticize the so-called strategy in Iraq. What, in your opinion, should be the final goal of the international presence in this country and the ways to achieve it?”

“There is a general understanding that we want to see a stable Iraq which is respectful of its minorities, all religions, and the rights of women and which is open to market and democratic reforms. This is what the international community sees as its desired status. If we go back and look at the statements made a year ago by senior American officials and representatives of other coalition members, we’ll see they saw it as a difficult task. The president of the United States said we would stay there as long as it is necessary to complete the task. It is important that this firm intention was understood. Because if you set an official deadline, you just say to the foes of stability and open society in Iraq: they will last this long; then they will leave.”

“What does the US wish as to the length of other countries’ forces, in part, Ukraine’s, stay in Iraq?”

“There is no sense to artificially establish terms of their stay. It is important that members of the coalition be in close touch with each other and the United States and that we find ways to support each other to achieve our common goal.”

“By various estimations, the Iraq question is to become one of the key issues during the election campaign in the US. Can we expect any changes in the Near East policy considering the presidential race? Isn’t the US Great Far East initiative one such change?”

“I think that the US Government is interested in achieving stability in Iraq as quickly and as broadly as possible, whether or not there are elections. I also think that the US administrations’ policy toward supporting an open society in Iraq is based upon strategic understanding rather than electoral considerations.”

“After the acts of terror in Spain there are more and more statements on the possibility of such acts in other European countries. What is your opinion on the

possibility of terrorist attacks in Ukraine?”

“It is not a normal procedure for us to talk about information related to terrorist attacks publicly. When we have sufficient information suggesting that terrorist attacks may be possible, we do issue public warnings. For example, when I worked in Jerusalem, we would deal with statements like that frequently. Here in Kyiv I really didn’t have too much experience dealing with such public statements. But it’s worth noting that often our information is accurate, but you cannot always be certain about that.”

“Opposition representatives in Ukraine asserted the week before last the need to withdraw Ukrainian peacekeepers from Iraq. In your opinion, to what extent are these statements politically motivated?”

“We believe the only responsible course on Iraq is to see that the adopted resolutions are carried out. Different parties and different people take positions on Iraq for different reasons. It is not for me to comment on their motivation. But I can tell you that stability in the international community requires that the coalition succeed in Iraq. The forces fighting the coalition in Iraq are blowing up Shiite Muslims when they celebrate their religious holiday, blowing up representatives of the United Nations. They are acting like terrorists. If they come to power in Iraq, instability in the Persian Gulf is assured, and that poses danger to the entire world. Maybe some people here want to pull the Ukrainian military out of Iraq because they are not very wise, or maybe they have political reasons for this.”

“How does Ukrainian military contingent’s stay in Iraq influence the bilateral relations between Kyiv and Washington?”

“Certainly the bilateral relationship improved with Ukraine’s two decisions concerning the Persian Gulf (sending a radiochemical battalion to Kuwait and a separate mechanized brigade to Iraq — Author ). There even were some critics who said that these decisions have given the Ukrainian government immunity from other US concerns. Those critics are wrong. As you know, I worked in Uzbekistan for some time before coming to Ukraine. I told the Uzbek leadership that the decision on putting American bases in Uzbekistan was very important for our security and it would improve the bilateral relations. But our relationship could not become truly close unless there were clear improvements, particularly in human rights. What was true there is also true here. If you’ve been following on the activity of our government, you know we had not been shy to express our concerns about violations of democratic process in preparations for this year’s presidential elections. Our concern is about the use of administrative resources to block opposition rallies, the closing of independent media, including the station that transmitted Radio Liberty, the abuse of tax authorities to pressure on political opponents. We express them freely.”

“What is your estimate of the prospects for raising the level of Ukraine-NATO cooperation after the Istanbul summit?”

“I think it is premature to say.”

“Is it premature because the increase is probable or, to the contrary, everything will remain the way it is?”

“I think we will leave it in that wording.”