Move Condi's Office to Baghdad

At a party the other night, I met someone who worked at the State Department who asked me, "Why should I go to Iraq when the military hasn't done its job?" As an Iraq war veteran, the comment cut me like a knife; I mean, tell a double amputee that they didn't do their job in Iraq. Now I find that a number of State Department officials have not stepped up to go to Iraq, and, like this woman, are upset that they might be forced to go.

I'm sorry, but I have just one response for them: Boo Hoo. If you don't believe in the policy in Iraq, then leave the State Department to speak out. If you're too scared to go where you're needed, then resign. But, if you're serious about the oath you took to this nation, then suck it up and go to Iraq. And, Condoleezza Rice, this includes you. Let me explain.

The war in Iraq, is, as military philosopher Carl von Clausewitz said, "politics by other means." This war began as a result of diplomats stirring up international acceptance of military action, and it will only end when diplomats step up and do the heavy lifting to rally the international community and regional players towards the cause of bringing stability to Iraq. Throughout modern history, militaries have won battles, but only diplomatic negotiators have ended wars. Iraq is no different.

Is this an Army and Marine corps at war, or a nation at war? No matter how one feels about starting the war, now that our troops are in harm's way, it will take an interagency process, and national strategy, to get them out. At the top of that process is the State Department doing a heck of a lot more than it has been to this point.

At a time when our soldiers in Iraq are now beginning their third tours, at a time when deployments get extended to 12 and 15 months, it is unconscionable that those in the State Department would so fail our military by refusing to do their jobs, which is to find a way for our troops to leave, while fortifying some semblance of stability in the region. The diplomacy it will take cannot be done over the phone, or email, or instant messenger. It will take the full force of our Department of State personally being stationed in Iraq, and engaging in intense, face-to-face, shuttle diplomacy.

In short, this war will not end without chaos, unless the State Department steps up, and makes the same sacrifice in Iraq that our troops have made since 2003.

Rep. Duncan Hunter offered a suggestion that is moronic, at best - send wounded troops back to Iraq to do the job of the State Department. As if that's a big "thank you" to those who sacrificed their minds and limbs.

I have another idea - send Condi Rice to Iraq until Jan 20, 2009, when George Bush's term is done. That would be just about 15 months - the same amount our troops are spending there now. This would be leading with your feet, as we say in the Army. Though State Department officials should be serious enough about their jobs to go to Iraq anyway, if they are not, then it is time for Condi Rice to show leadership through example.

For the next fifteen months, she should be based out of Baghdad, and spend the vast majority of her time, leading forceful, face-to-face, shuttle diplomacy, and convene a regional conference to find resolution of the warring parties in Iraq. From Baghdad, she also could reenergize the Mideast peace process and begin talks with Iran about their nuclear program.

Of course, with other hotspots in the world, she could and should leave Baghdad when absolutely needed. But, it is time for her to show that the State Department will make the same effort our troops have. It is time for her to show that the United States is serious about bringing about diplomatic solutions that will settle the largest differences in the region, and allow for our troops to come home. It's time for her to move her office from Foggy Bottom to Baghdad.

Comments

[IrritatedVet]

Is it possibe (methinks probable) that the recent, er, 'insurrection' at State may have something to do with Iran?

Seriously, the higher-end diplomats at State know what the administration has in store - at levels much higher than we 'laymen' see - and if I were a gambler, my cash would say they call it a 'suicide mission' because they know Washington is about to at least do the Tomohawk Chop on Iran...leaving every American in Iraq - military, civilian and otherwise - open to direct or indirect attacks from Iran and the Iraqi Shi'a population.

Just food for thought here.

[kdoug]

Why stop at Condi?
I think George W. Bush, Richard B. Cheney and Duncan Hunter should all move their offices to Baghdad. Wake up and live each day there until January 2009. No more 15 minute trips in the dead of night ... put your body where your mouth is.

[JudyGee]

Just today, the government controlled media reported that Bagdad is so much safer. Only 37 people killed. State department employees hiding under their beds, however, know what can happen to them if they end up in Iraq. Devoid of honor or courage, is the ethos created by Bush and Cheney (and their puppetmasters), and words like brave, in corporatist lexicon, just means stupid.
Condi, on the other hand, should go. An animatronic, her parts can be easily replaced, and she doesn't need a head.

[NoFactsJustTruth]

Well said, Jon, excellent ideas! Unfortunately, we're dealing with a preznutz that might just respond better to reverse psychology, like how he deciders to surge when EVERYONE else thinks it intelligent to reduce and withdraw.

I have an idea we may just need to get EVERYONE to suggest Condi CAN'T POSSIBLY help in Iraq, and watch the megalomaniac in him ...take over, and see how quick she arrives there.


Thanks, Jon, for again putting the troops first.

[PMERKEL37]

I think the entire administration should be required to stay on and support the political reconciliation in Iraq - face to face - with the Iraqis - in Iraq. They should finish what they started.

Keep Fighting Jon!

[Seafoam]

Jon you wrote: "In short, this war will not end without chaos, unless the State Department steps up, and makes the same sacrifice in Iraq that our troops have made since 2003."

I disagree. What if State Department FSOs mutinied. That would be leadership. Wouldn't that be be better than stepping up and helping the Bush policy as much as they can which is what you suggest... and what our troops have done.? It is a bad policy or strategy so why participate in it? And why not stay inside rather than resign? Help temper the insanity from within. Remember those German officers e. g., Von Stauffenberg, that stayed inside and resisted Hitler from inside. What good would they have done if they had resigned and gone outside?

[MAGLATINA]

THE ONLY FRIGGING SOLUTION TO THIS HENIOUS SITUATION IS TO BRING THE TROOPS HOME, GIVE THEM THE BEST SERVICES MEDICAL, ECONOMICAL, ETC. NOW!!! LET THE IRAQUIS FEND FOR THEMSELVES. TOO MANY MISTAKES HAVE BEEN MADE AND THE IRAQUIS HAVE SUFFERED FROM THOSE ALSO... LET THEM SOLVE THEIR TRIBAL PROBLEMS...THEY HAVE HAD THEM FOREVER.. AND IMPEACH BUSH, CHENEY AND CONDI...

[mouselion]

It appears we may have here another one of those governmental inter-branch sibling rivalry-things going on here between State and Defense. Between this situation where the State Dept. officials are turning their noses up at assignments in Iraq and the whole Black Water as State's rent-a-thugs shows a disdain for the men and women in uniform.

Cynically decrying that the military is all to blame for the way things are in Iraq is definitely betraying a lack of political will for Iraq by the State Dept. (which in itself betrays the ass-backward approach to W's war --no emphasis on diplomacy, at all).

[devildog21]

Jon,

Always enjoy your posts and as poetic as it would be for Rice to go to Iraq, it would likely be counter productive. Bush doesn't want to have anything to do with diplomacy in the region and he pretty much guaranteed he wouldn't have any by appointing a woman as Secretary of State.

In a region where women are held in contempt (or worse) for even speaking out about their government, do you really think anyone in this area wants to deal with a woman on such a high level? I'm not being sexist, I don't care either way, but it is a reality of the region that we must be aware of.

So, even if Rice had any power (she doesn't) or if Bush were serious about diplomacy (he's not), her presence in Baghdad would accomplish nothing, except more contempt directed toward the United States. I think we are hated enough right now.

As for the scaredy cat diplomats, maybe if they downsize the "city" they are calling an embassy to a manageable size, they might not have so much trouble staffing it.

[rmajh5]

This has not been a very good week for America. Fires in California; three police officers being shot in Philadelphia within the past few days with one killed.

But the good news? In Iraq, for the month of October, only 37 of our brave military fighting forces were killed. It has been much worse in the not too distant past.

At this current pace in Iraq, it is only a matter of time when we will be able to withdraw our forces and refocus our resources on the violence permeating our urban centers, on the growing gap between the rich and the poor and on our deteriorating infrastructure of roads and bridges. I figure we might be able to begin dealing adequately with our own internal distress in a few years. Until then, I guess we will just have to rough it.

[noeltaylor]

I'm a Bush Admin hater ,but, i'm a Condi fan, i'm African American.
I would like to point out that ,in my opinion, Condi rice isn't scared of Danger CAUSE this is life as she's come to know it.
Noticed these things: Condi really (sadly) has nothing to loose and she's always (bravely) over there (announced)
I think she will do everything to save her name not just because she's "Condi Rice" ,But, because she's Black (Obama needs her to step up...see??) ,and, in my Black opinion, she's the type that don't want to be the one who is USED as an EXAMPLE of the "typical negro". She would not be happy to have her office relocated but she can't afford the luxury of cowardice (Don't wanna be "lazy and shiftless" now).
This article says to me: "It's tougher being black in America than Jon Soltz realizes"
Now,I could be wrong about Condi ,but, these are my opinions based on comparison to other black females i've known like her, t-o-u-g-h.

[HalDonahue]

"Is this an Army and Marine corps at war, or a nation at war?"

Jon that is they whole point - the nation is not at war only the military. Send Condi and VP and let's see what happens

[Colmore]

Great post. I agree 100% Don't hold your breathe, though. These neocons are just all blowhards, sending young troops into this hell hole. Rice has not accomplished one single thing in office. So, it is overdue time for a change, and your suggestion is perfect. Instead of jetting all over, go to Baghdad and be centrally located. Set an example. Best idea yet.

[Erroll]

Jon Soltz complains that State Department officials who are balking at going to Iraq should "suck it up and go to Iraq." As a Vietnam veteran, It seems incumbent upon me to remind Mr. Soltz that the Vietnam War finally ended when the U.S. engaged the North Vietnamese in peace talks in the 1970s, not in Vietnam, but in Paris, France. The problem is not that the diplomats do not wish to enter that abattoir in Iraq. Rather, it is that the soldiers continue to fight in Iraq, thereby ending up dying, maimed and crippled, disfigured and dismembered, for no justifiable reason whatsoever. The best way for this occupation to end is for the American military to pay close attention to the documentary Sir! No Sir!, which chronicled the GI Movement that took place at home and abroad at or near military bases during the Vietnam War. The film showed why those military personnel spoke out against the war and how they were effective in urging others not to take part in the suppression of the Vietnamese people. As Donald Duncan, former Green Beret featured in the film stated "I was doing it right but I wasn't doing right." Or David Cline, future president of Veterans for Peace, who said in the film, "Your silence is keeping that lie going."

The soldiers today have it in their power to do what the Vietnam veterans did to end the Vietnam War those many years ago and that is to make their voices heard by saying NO to the war machine of the United States. The most effective way to stop a war is to have it happen from within.

[oldpotsmuggler]

Mutiny in the State Department! Gotta love that surge. These folks are ultra sophisticated when it comes to evaluating this type of security situation, and will probably tend to have information that is at least as relaible as that possessed by the rest of us. Their friends/colleagues are in Iraq "protected" by the Green Zone and hiding behind their Blackwater body guards. The ones there obviously don't want to stay, and they can't talk anyone into wanting to come replace them.

If these folks are this afraid, is it reasonable for us to even stay there? Fear breeds "spray and pray" and we already have far too many enemies in Iraq to justify our continued presence.