Clinton Reassures Arab Allies as Iran, Syria Outreach Begins
Clinton's message in Lebanon, Iraq and Kuwait was consistent: President Barack Obama will stand against sectarian violence and attempts by neighboring states to destabilize the region, and won't hurt old friends while trying to build bridges to Mideast adversaries.
In Beirut yesterday, Clinton called for the June 7 parliamentary elections in Lebanon to be "without the specter of violence or intimidation, and free of outside interference."
Syria and Iran support and fund Hezbollah, an influential militant Shiite group and political party that may emerge from Lebanese elections as part of the dominant coalition.
Clinton also pledged that U.S. efforts to thaw ties with neighboring Syria, whose forces once occupied Lebanon, won't be at the expense of Lebanese safety or sovereignty.
In Baghdad on April 25, Clinton promised U.S. support for "a stable, sovereign, self-reliant Iraq" even as the U.S. begins a phased withdrawal of troops starting with the pullout from Iraqi cities by June 30.
Baghdad Bombings
Clinton arrived unannounced in the Iraqi capital after two days of bombings there that killed more than 150 people, many of them Iranian Shiite pilgrims. Clinton said she didn't believe the attacks augured a return to the Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence that engulfed Iraq in 2006 and led President George W. Bush to send military reinforcements.
Iraqi politicians from all sects have condemned the latest violence and urged restraint rather than reprisals.
The Iraqi people and their leaders have been firm in refusing to let the violence "set Iraqi against Iraqi, which is obviously one of its intended goals," Clinton said at a press conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.
Zebari said he doesn't believe the attacks "will derail government determination to pursue its plans to stabilize the country," and to "ensure there is no vacuum" during the American troop withdrawal.
Clinton said the U.S. believes "some of the recent suicide bombers most likely came across the border through Syria," and that the U.S. and Iraq were raising their concerns with Syrian authorities. The use of Syria as a gateway into Iraq for insurgents has been a persistent concern of the U.S.
Her Confidence
Clinton demonstrated her confidence in the security situation in Iraq by not wearing body armor over her flame-red blazer.
"I read the intelligence reports, and I didn't think it was necessary," she said in a brief aside. "I think we want to send a different message." Clinton said she did wear protective armor on two previous trips, in 2003 and 2007.
Obama, in a visit to Iraq on April 7, encouraged Iraqi leaders to push toward political unity. Obama this month requested an additional $75.8 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the rest of this fiscal year.
At each of her stops, Clinton heard concerns from Arab allies about the direction of American efforts to engage Syria and Iran.
A U.S. official said that in Kuwait City on April 24, Clinton privately gave Kuwaiti officials a message that she has delivered to other oil-rich allies: they will be consulted as the U.S. reaches out to Iran. Persian Gulf allies are deeply suspicious of Iran's ambitions and influence with extremist groups in the region.
The U.S. and its European allies are seeking to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, while Iran insists its nuclear aims are peaceful and lawful.
Planned Talks
The Obama administration has agreed to join planned talks with Iran on the dispute. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on ABC television's "This Week" program that his government is preparing to offer the U.S. and European nations an updated version of a one-year-old proposal for talks about its nuclear program.
Clinton's brief visit to Beirut coincided with the fourth anniversary of the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon.
"The United States will never make any deal with Syria that sells out Lebanon or the Lebanese people," Clinton said. "It is only right that you are given the chance to make your own decisions."
Hezbollah's campaign so far has emphasized anti-corruption and consensus governance. The group's leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, has said it would form a government of national unity in the interests of stability.
Christians and Muslims
From 1975 to 1990, Lebanon was wracked by a civil war that primarily pitted Christians against Muslims. Under Lebanon's political system, the 128-seat legislature must be half- Christian and half Muslim. The pro-U.S. coalition, mostly Sunnis with Christian and Druze allies, has 70 seats.
Hezbollah and its allies have one-third of the seats in the Cabinet.
Since 2006, the U.S. has given more than $1 billion to Lebanon, including $410 million to the country's security forces. The steps followed Hezbollah's month-long war with U.S. ally Israel in 2006.
After meeting with President Michel Suleiman in the Baabda Palace, Clinton visited Martyrs Square and laid a wreath at the tomb of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. The U.S. withdrew its ambassador to Syria in 2005 following Hariri's assassination, which investigators linked to Syria. The Syrian government has denied any role in the attack.
U.S. diplomats and lawmakers have met with Syrian officials in Damascus during the past two months, in a sign of warming ties.
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