Wall Street Journal Editorial - A 'Contact Group' for Iraq

Wall Street Journal Editorial - A 'Contact Group' for Iraq

A 'Contact Group' for Iraq

By Joseph R. Biden Jr.

The elections in Iraq hold the possibility that a government and constitution seen as legitimate by Iraq's main factions can emerge in the months ahead. They also create an opportunity for the Bush administration to finally make Iraq the world's problem, not just our own.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that "the time for diplomacy is now." The proof will be in the administration's effort -- and success -- in getting more help to train Iraqi security forces and build Iraq's infrastructure. In the days leading up to President Bush's trip to Europe this month, the administration should make a diplomatic full-court press to do just that.

Our allies claim to be concerned about the plight of the Iraqi people. Now is their chance to prove it. It is time for them to get over their differences with the Bush administration and act in their own self-interest to promote a stable, unified, representative Iraq. The elections give them political cover to explain their help as a response to the Iraqi government, not the U.S.

In a recent meeting with Jacques Chirac, I sensed a new willingness to work with us in Iraq if France is given a seat at the table. Similarly, during Ms. Rice's visit to Germany, Gerhard Schroeder offered additional German assistance to train Iraqi security forces, build ministries, and support civil institutions. The EU is considering plans to train Iraqi police and magistrates, and to send experts to Iraq to strengthen the rule of law and the political process.

In December, Hosni Mubarak told me Egypt wants to step up assistance to Iraq, including training more Iraqi security forces. Jordan, already a major contributor to the stabilization effort, has offered to provide additional training to promising leaders from Iraq's security institutions. These offers, and others like them, should be coordinated through a contact group -- an international board of directors -- that would support Iraq's transition. Because the U.S. would remain, by far, the largest outside contributor of troops, resources and advisers to Iraq, we would be the chairman of the board. Last April, I called for the creation of such a group. The president could use his trip to formally launch the effort.

The contact group should meet monthly and could include the U.S., the Iraqi government, the major European powers, regional allies, NATO and the U.N. The group would review progress and coordinate assistance and strategy. Key initiatives could include:

-- Expanding and coordinating international assistance to build Iraq's security forces, including a larger role for NATO and its member states.

-- Developing Iraq's governing capacity, so that it has functioning ministries and the ability to deliver basic services like water, electricity, and gasoline to its people.

-- Offering expert assistance as Iraq grapples with the contentious process of drafting a new constitution. The international community offered similar, invaluable assistance for the Iraqi elections through the U.N.

-- Discouraging and delegitimizing outside support for the insurgency.

-- Providing international legitimacy during each phase of what will be a difficult transition to a permanent elected government at the end of the year.

-- A broader group, which includes the international financial institutions and other members of the G-8, could meet on a regular, but more infrequent basis to discuss ways to support the contact group's efforts.

I'm convinced that the offers of assistance from our allies in Europe and friends in the region are genuine. They recognize that -- like others in Europe, the Middle East and Asia -- they have as much, if not more, to lose than we do if Iraq becomes a failed state and expanding base for terrorism. The Bush administration should take advantage of this growing recognition and do what it has been reluctant to do thus far: give others a seat at the decision-making table. That is the price for bringing more countries into the effort. It is well worth paying.

The alternative is for the U.S. to continue to carry the burden of Iraq's transition largely on its own. That makes no sense when others may actually be willing to help.

Sen. Biden is the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

(Copyright (c) 2005, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

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