The Foreign Service Journal, February 2007

expects Democrats to ultimately unite around the need for, a phased withdrawal from Iraq. House and Senate Democratic leaders endors- ed that position shortly before the midterm elections. Lantos’ staunch support for the war early on and his push for diplo- macy now have both drawn the ire of more liberal Democrats, who distrust his close relationship with the conservative Hyde. The com- mittee’s number-two Democrat, Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., even briefly considered running against Lantos for the chairmanship. Other Democrats, including Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., have promised extensive hearings into the Iraq War, with a goal of bringing U.S. forces home immediately. Lantos will also argue that U.S. involvement in Iraq has “undermined” fighting al-Qaida and terrorism around the globe, particularly in Afghanistan. “While the administra- tion’s attention has been diverted by its failure in Iraq, the United States is on the verge of losing Afghanistan once again. The Taliban is resurgent, the Afghan government remains severely weakened, and international reconstruc- tion projects have been difficult to complete because of the unstable security environment,” says Lantos. To address that situation, Lantos will push for renew- al of the 2002 Afghan Freedom and Support Act, which Congress has declined to do since 2004. The act sets guidelines for spending billions of dollars in foreign and U.S. aid in Afghanistan. Without those rules in place, Lantos believes, tax dollars are being wasted and Afghani women are suffering the denial of basic human rights. Meanwhile, Biden will head a Senate foreign policy panel that has included some of the most vocal critics of Bush foreign policy, particularly the Iraq War. Biden, who enjoys a warm working relationship with past chair- man Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., has said Lugar shares his concerns about the war but has been loath to criticize a GOP administration. The panel also blocked the con- firmation of hard-liner John Bolton as United Nations ambassador, leading to a recess appointment that has now expired. Biden has said he will focus on finding ways to solve problems in Iraq rather than retracing the Bush adminis- tration’s failures in conducting the war. At the same time, he will hold hearings into waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq, and expects to call Rice before the panel more frequently. “Our current policy in Iraq is a failure. We are past the point of an open-ended commitment. We are past the point of adding more troops. We are past the point of vague policy prescriptions. It is not an answer just to stay. Nor is it an answer — though it may become a necessity — just to go, with no con- cern for what follows,” Biden declared in a December speech to the Israel Policy Forum. He is likely to push a plan he developed with the help of Leslie Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, that seeks to divide Iraq into three autonomous regions — one for each of its ethnic groups (Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds). Under the plan, the central government would oversee shared concerns, such as defending Iraq and ensuring the nation’s oil revenues are distributed equitably; but otherwise, the regions would govern themselves according to their own ethnic rules with their own leaders. Biden’s plan, loosely modeled after the use of ethnic regions in the Balkans, has drawn only lukewarm support from other lawmakers. Many analysts doubt different ethnic groups would agree to share oil revenues. Biden counters, “Oil can become the glue that holds Iraq together.” Still, he is open to other ideas. “We will hold intensive and extensive hearings, over many weeks. We won’t be wedded to any one plan or proposal. Instead, our mission will be as straightforward as it is vital: to shine a light on what options remain for America to start bringing our troops home from Iraq without trading a dictator for chaos,” Biden said at the Israel Policy Forum. The Senate Armed Services Committee will also play a crucial role in fashioning any change in Iraq strategy. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., its chairman, calls Iraq his top pri- ority. He has said repeatedly that a military solution is no longer possible in Iraq and believes only a political settle- ment among various sectarian groups will bring stability. “We should put the responsibility for Iraq’s future square- ly where it belongs — on the Iraqis. We cannot save the Iraqis from themselves,” Levin said in November. F O C U S 24 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 7 Lantos’ backing of a robust foreign policy aligns more closely with neoconservative views than traditionally liberal ones.