The existence of American troops is an Iraqi decision, says Wittes

Sunday,22 May 2011

By : Jameel W. Karaki WASHINGTON: Tamara Wittes, Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, at the US State Department stated that the United States will not keep any troops in Iraq without an exclusive request from its government, that it is a sovereign Iraqi decision, adding that the relationship between Iraq and Israel is an entirely Iraqi issue. She also clarified that the demands in the streets of Egypt and Tunisia are clearly for dignity and freedom where they arose from grievances related to economical conditions. In addition, she pointed out that US supports economic development in the region through different tools that are aimed to help Egypt, Tunisia and other developing states as they slowly move to more democratic governments, thereby helping them in gaining access to the American markets and Europe.  In addition to promoting investments in the region, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) dedicated 2 billion US dollars' worth on an investments facility to support private sector investments in these countries, to generate more jobs. This statement was issued to reporters during a "virtual press briefing" to discuss President Obama's Middle East speech, which took place on May 19, 2011. The briefing took place on StateDeptLive, the State Department's new interactive Web chat platform. Wittes in her response to a question about Egyptian assets illegally held in the US said that the US would identify assets that were stolen from Egypt by corrupt leaders in previous regimes, which would require an extensive amount of investigation and information gathering, asserting that the US will begin the process according to Egyptian and American laws. As to American's proposal for financial relief for Egypt, Wittes said that it involved up to $1 billion in debt relief freeing up funds to help support small and medium enterprises in Egypt. Wittes described the current sectarian conflicts in Egypt as very troubling and that both Muslims and Christians should work together on behalf of the future they share, asserting that the future of Egypt is in the hands of its people. Wittes believes by coming to the state department the president was making a statement that the role of the US in events happening in the region is to support the drive initiated by the people in these countries. Moreover, he aimed to speak to the younger generations of US diplomats to encourage them in supporting the aspirations of the people of the region. She added that "The future of the region is in the hands of the people from that region and not in the hands of any external factors." Regarding the current situation in Yemen she said, "we have been very constant in our approach to the situation in Yemen, where president Saleh must follow through on his commitment to begin a transition of power," hoping that the transition will be underway soon in Yemen, where currently there is promising dialogue between the government and the opposition. Speaking about the current situation in Palestine, she said that despite the fact that an agreement has been signed between Hamas and Fatah still no new government has been formed. Wittes indicated that for any Palestinian government to be a constructive partner in the peace process it needs to sign up to the basic principles underlying any peace process, being a commitment to reject violence to achieve political goals, to respect other agreements signed in the past, as well as recognition of the right for Israel to exist.  When asked about her expectations on whether the current Syrian regime will collapse, she said that nobody can predict what system might replace the current Syrian government. However, the focus of the American government now is to make the current Syrian government accountable for transgressions and put pressure on them to stop the violence, mass arrests, the killing of innocent people, and to allow them to experience their basic rights.