Ambassador Barbara Bodine delivered a lecture on Thursday presented by the Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies program titled, "Cassandra's Curse, Pandora's Box, The Lessons and Legacy of Iraq."
Bodine outlined the diplomatic failures that led to the current situation in Iraq, and explained what policies could produce a stable Iraq in the future.
Currently the Robert Wilhelm Fellow at the Center for International Studies' Persian Gulf Initiative at MIT, Bodine served for 30 years in the Department of State, mostly in the Persian Gulf region, and also as Ambassador to Yemen. In 2003, Ambassador Bodine was the senior Department of State official and the first coalition coordinator for post-conflict reconstruction for Baghdad and the central provinces of Iraq.
Due to her vast experience in diplomacy and, more specifically, the Middle East, Bodine was able to explain in hindsight the failures of the Iraq invasion and speculate on the possibilities for stability in the future.
Bodine was particularly emphatic about how the debate within the State Department became much more combative and hostile after 2001: "We had full-blown all-out guerilla warfare going on within the State Department," Bodine said. Although she had spent most of her career coordinating with various agencies like the CIA and the Pentagon, the post-9/11 atmosphere was less convivial and much more confrontational.
"There was a normal level of tension that is healthy but the debates that we had were always within a common sense of national purpose. You never questioned your co-worker's loyalty or his patriotism, but what happened in 2001 was you're either with us or against us," said Bodine.
Bodine saw that many of her colleagues were obsessed with figuring out what the original mistake was in Iraq. "What was the original sin in Iraq? The decision to give the lead on reconstruction to defense was it. They threw out the extensive plan and very studiously culled those with regional experience out of power over time," Bodine said.
"The military realized that these were not skill sets that they had. Asking a soldier to be simultaneously a social worker, a peacekeeper, and a soldier just doesn't work. We simply hurt ourselves."
The result of the countless American mistakes was the appearance of sectarian hatred and violence that no amount of "social engineering" by the United States could mitigate. Stressing the importance of holding elections and establishing some semblance of government has not united Iraqis. Bodine explained that, "we delude ourselves if we think elections are the answer," and the conflict needs to be addressed at the root causes in order to truly eradicate the problem.
Despite the sheer magnitude of the dilemma, Bodine emphasized that there is still a chance of restoring order to Iraq. "Like Pandora's Box, I do think that hope remains, but we will have to make some fundamental changes."
First, Bodine emphasized that security could be encouraged and fostered but not created by American forces. "We're never going to have enough troops in Iraq or for long enough for them to be the solution. You pull your troops over here and the bad guy shows up somewhere else."
Instead, Bodine emphasized the need to provide basic services and the rule of law - not simply police forces, but also an independent judiciary.
In addition, there is a desperate need "to internationalize the transition and regionalize the dialogue." In other words, the United States must engage Iran and Iraq's other neighbors so that they will aid in the reconstruction and stabilization of Iraq. Without regional support, Iraq has little hope of ending the bloodshed.
The United States needs to encourage the process of Constitutional review because the current constitution leaves too much power in the hands of the provincial leaders. "Nobody wants to go back to a Saddam-style dictatorship, but the need for a strong central government is obvious. Everyone's hoping that someone will come forward and say 'I am the Iraqi president,' and walk backward from the sectarian ambitions."
Significantly, Bodine saw it as an Iraqi responsibility to structure the Iraqi government. "Americans like to fix things, but we don't structure the Iraqi government. At this point, I'm not even sure that we have the influence to do it even if we came up with the right answer.
"The cards really are not in our hands anymore. They may have been in our hands in 2003, 2004, but we don't have any cards anymore." In recent months, the majority of the control of Iraq has shifted to local militias that have provided the only real security for Iraqis. In their mildest form, Bodine compared them to "neighborhood watch committees" that fill a security void. A central government is required to rein in these militias and provide stability.
"In some post-conflict situations, the best way is to bring some of these militias into the central authority in power sharing arrangements. In others, trying to marginalize them is effective, but this situation seems like it might be best to bring them into the political sphere."
When asked about the best way to go about pursuing a career in diplomacy, Bodine talked about the difficulties of the job, but also her love for the work. "I have had days when I thought I ought to be somewhere else, but I never had any times when I thought I ought to be doing something else.
"The process of getting in is very long and very frustrating. Nobody passes the test the first time, but keep at it. What intrigued me about this job is that you're the prime actor, you're out there and actually making real changes."
The Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Department presented this event, which is one event in their distinguished lecture series, "Energy, International Security and the Middle East."
This series hosted professor Jim Walsh of MIT who spoke about the possibility of a Nuclear Iran a few weeks ago. They are looking forward to having professor Greg Gauss speak on April 18 in Devlin 008 at 4:30 p.m. about U.S.-Saudi relations since Sept. 11.
Be the first to comment on this article!