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Report from Congress

Date: June 21, 2004
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Defense Foreign Affairs


REPORT FROM CONGRESS

By Congressman Roger F. Wicker
June 21, 2004

WICKER HOPEFUL ABOUT DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN

The interim presidents of Iraq and Afghanistan made separate trips to Washington over the past two weeks, but they brought the same message of optimism about the future. With the transfer of sovereignty in Iraq set for June 30 and elections planned later this year in Afghanistan, the question is whether the efforts under way there will lead to success. I met with both men on Capitol Hill and was impressed by their determination to advance the cause of freedom.

Ghazi al-Yawar, who heads the new Iraqi administration, and Afghan leader Hamid Karzai are under no illusions about the difficulties that lie ahead. They also recognize and accept the personal risk associated with establishing representative government where none has existed before. President Karzai survived one assassination attempt in 2002,
and another one was averted in April. Just last week a deputy foreign minister was gunned down in Iraq. Mr. al-Yawar told me, "When young people from other countries can come to Iraq and risk their lives for our freedom, the least I can do is be willing to do the same."

DIVERSE IRAQI LEADERSHIP

A big key to success in Iraq will be getting the country's major ethnic and religious groups to work together. The new government there reflects Iraq's diversity with representatives of the Sunni and Shiite Muslim sects and the Kurdish minority assuming positions of power. President Al-Yawar is a Sunni, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi is a Shiite, and one of the two vice presidents is Kurdish. There are also six women among the 33 new ministers.

Mr. Al-Yawar's background puts him in a strong position to provide the leadership that can bring stability and the rule of law to Iraq. He comes from one of the country's largest tribes, which is comprised of both Sunni and Shiite members. The tribe also reaches into Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia and has always enjoyed good relations with Iraq's Kurdish population.

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