Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is expressing concern about the movements of radical Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr in and out of Iran and Iraq ahead of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq later this year.
“I’m very concerned about Sadr’s activity — and his followers…I’ll be pretty blunt,” McCain said Thursday at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
Sadr’s return to Iraq on January 5 after nearly four years of self-imposed exile in Iran sent shockwaves through the the U.S. diplomatic and military communities and sparked fears about his intentions after the U.S. withdraws its military forces. During his two-week visit, he gave a speech at a rally for thousands of his supporters held in Najaf and visited with political and religious leaders.
Gen. Lloyd James Austin, the commanding general of U.S. forces in Iraq, testified at today’s hearing that the latest he’d heard is that Sadr had returned to Iran in recent weeks.
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey told McCain that he “could not assess” Iran’s intentions with full accuracy, but acknowledged that “it is a significant priority of Iranians not to have U.S. forces on its door step.”
McCain also questioned Jeffrey and Austin whether detainees were being released as part of the Iraqi government’s efforts to solidify support for its government and appease certain factions.
Austin would only say that some detainees are being released because of lack of evidence to hold them. He said he had no proof to confirm McCain’s assertions that they were being released for political purposes.
The comments came during a hearing devoted to assessing the stability of Iraq after the U.S. withdrawal.
Jeffrey urged Congress not to gut assistance to the State Department’s civilian programs in Iraq and said this financial support was necessary in order to maintain stability and turn Baghdad into a strategic ally for the United States. He warned that Iraq’s “infant” democracy is vulnerable and susceptible to the reemergence of al Qaeda and the expansion of Iranian influence.
“…A stable Iraq will play a key role in achieving the objectives of the U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East in the foreseeable future,” he told the panel.
In light of growing efforts by Congress to cut spending, McCain urged Jeffrey and Austin to remain vigilant in making their case for continued U.S. assistance to the Iraqi government.
Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) echoed McCain’s sentiments.
“If we don’t sustain this effort we’ve invested a lot of blood and lives and material in…that would be a tragedy,” said Reed. “It could become one of those Charlie Wilson moments when we look back and say, ‘Goodness gracious, what were we thinking?”
Reed was referring to former Rep. Charlie Wilson (D-Texas) and his unsuccessful urgings to continue supporting Afghanistan after clandestine U.S. support helped the Afghans defeat the former Soviet Union there. The vacuum that was created after the U.S. departed left an opening for the rise of the Taliban.
The size and scope of the U.S. footprint in Iraq after the withdrawal is up for debate, and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) argued that the Iraqi people should determine it.
While McCain and Graham argued in favor of retaining a military presence in Iraq after the withdrawal, Jeffrey said the State Department was capable of handling security on its own.
After a series of back and forth questions about whether the military could provide better security, Nelson cut to the chase.
“It’s not about better,” he said. “It’s about adequate and getting it done sufficiently to protect our interests in Iraq.”
