Overture to Iran defended by Iraq report authors
Source: Reuters
By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The Republican chairman of the Iraq Study Group on Thursday defended the panel's call to seek Iran's help in stabilizing Iraq but conceded he was told recently by Tehran that was unlikely "this time around." Former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker told U.S. lawmakers that President George W. Bush had given him permission recently to approach the Iranian government, with which the United States has no diplomatic relations. "And they, in effect, said, 'we would not be inclined to help you this time around,'" Baker told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Baker and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, a Democrat, were greeted by senators who questioned the value of inviting Iran to join a regional conference on stabilizing Iraq - a key element of the bipartisan report issued on Wednesday. The report said the United States should begin to withdraw forces from combat in Iraq and launch a diplomatic push, including Iran and Syria, to prevent a "slide toward chaos". Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, who will head the Armed Services Committee when Democrats take control of Congress in January, said he thought most lawmakers supported the general thrust of the report, if not all its 79 recommendations. Levin, like many Democrats, favors starting a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops. The outreach to Iran prompted much of the skepticism. Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman asked whether Iran would not extract an "unacceptable price" -- such as concessions on its nuclear program -- for any help it gives the United States in Iraq. "I'm skeptical that it's realistic to think that Iran wants to help the United States succeed in Iraq," said Lieberman, a one-time Democratic vice presidential candidate. "They are, after all, supporting (the Islamist militant group) Hezbollah, which gathers people in the square in Beirut to shout "Death to America." Sen. John McCain, a potential 2008 Republican presidential candidate who has been urging more U.S. troops be sent to Iraq, added: "I don't believe that a peace conference with people who are dedicated to your extinction has much short-term gain." Baker said the report stated that the issue of Iraq should be kept separate from the nuclear proliferation issue in Iran. The United States says Iran is developing nuclear weapons; Iran says it wants to make fuel for nuclear power plants. "What do we lose by saying, 'we're getting all of Iraq's neighbors together, we want you to come, and if they say no, we show the world what they're all about?'" Baker asked. Later, in a meeting with print reporters, Baker noted that the United States had held talks with Iran as part of an international group seeking to stabilize Afghanistan and hence the current Iraq-related proposal was not suggesting anything the Americans had not already done.
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