Rice, Gates Push for Regional Support of Mideast Initiatives

07/31/2007

U.S. Officials Hear Concerns About Effects of Possible Withdrawal


By Robin Wright and Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writers
July 31, 2007


SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, July 31 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said they had wide-ranging discussions with leaders from several Middle Eastern countries here Tuesday, including "extensive" talks with the Egyptian president about U.S. policies in Iraq.

Rice said she and Gates assured "our friends and allies that the policies and decisions that the president is pursuing in Iraq will be policies and decisions that have at their core an understanding of the fundamental importance of a stable Iraq to the stability of the region."

Along with ongoing concerns about the Iraqi government's ability to reach national reconciliation and its slow political progress as the war there continues on, the U.S. officials said some Middle East leaders expressed concerns about the future of U.S. policy in Iraq. Gates told reporters traveling with both him and Rice that there is unease about how the United States would handle a departure from Iraq, should the country decide to do so.

"There clearly is concern on the part of the Egyptians, and I think that it probably represents concerns elsewhere in the region, that the United States will somehow withdraw precipitously from Iraq or in some way that is destabilizing to the entire region," Gates said.

Following meetings with members of Congress and watching public attitudes toward the war shift, Gates said he has seen recent trends in Washington that indicate even staunch opponents of President Bush's war policy are starting to rethink the consequences of a quick withdrawal. He said such a move could leave Iraq, and the region, in chaos.

"It seems to me over the past two or three weeks or so in Washington, while there are still strong advocates clearly of withdrawal and some of them withdrawing very quickly, what I have begun to hear is more and more of an undertone even from those who oppose the president's policies of the need to take into account the consequences if we make a change in our policy and the dangers inherent of doing it unwisely," Gates said.

"There is, I think, a growing body of opinion in Washington, wherever you are on the issue of withdrawal, that whatever we do next in Iraq needs to be done very carefully, very thoughtfully and with a view to the long-term stability of the region."

Rice said area leaders recognize a need to be involved in Iraq's security and said she found "an attitude of wanting to engage."

Iraq's neighbors have come under fire for lax border controls and under suspicions that they have been meddling in the sectarian violence that has plagued Iraq since the U.S. invasion in March 2003. Figuring prominently in that discussion is the influence of Iran, which was a topic of concern among nations meeting in Egypt.

"The Iraqis have a very tough battle against some very determined enemies," Rice said. "What I heard today and we heard from the Egyptians is that they know, these states know, that if the determined enemies are successful then this whole region is going to be chaotic, so this is also a matter of national self-interest."

Both Rice and Gates are on their way to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to continue similar discussions about regional security.

Earlier in the day, Rice huddled with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan plus five small Gulf monarchies to ask for greater involvement in bringing Iraq's minority Sunni community to the reconciliation table with the Shiite-dominated government. The United States just announced major arms sales to Saudi Arabia and Gulf sheikdoms, as well as a separate 10-year package of military aid to Egypt and Israel.

READ MORE: Click HERE