Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., took a victory lap Thursday in response to former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s recent claim that President Obama put little effort into negotiating a more peaceful transition of power in Iraq.
Panetta is joined by Ambassador Ryan Crocker in asserting that the Obama administration failed to engage Iraqi leaders in negotiating a deal that would’ve resulted in a continued a U.S. military presence to ensure against a power vacuum.
“The latest statements by two of the most respected national security officials to serve under President Obama definitively refute the falsehood that this Administration has told the American people for years about their efforts to leave a residual force in Iraq,” the senators said in a joint statement.
“As we have said all along, and as Secretary Panetta and Ambassador Crocker have now confirmed, the Obama Administration never made a full effort to leave a residual force in Iraq, despite being warned that failing to do so would risk exactly the scenario we’ve seen unfold today, with the emergence of terrorist safe-havens as Iraq slides back into chaos, threatening America’s national security,” the statement added.
Panetta said in his forthcoming memoir, titled “Worthy Fights,” that several Iraqi leaders mentioned off-the-record that they were definitely interested in the U.S. leaving behind a residual force to oversee a peaceful transition.
“Privately, the various leadership factions in Iraq all confided that they wanted some U.S. forces to remain as a bulwark against sectarian violence,” Panetta said. “But none was willing to take that position publicly, and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki concluded that any Status of Forces Agreement, which would give legal protection to those forces, would have to be submitted to the Iraqi parliament for approval.”
Unfortunately, the former Defense Secretary said, the Obama administration made little to no effort to engage Iraqi leaders and strike a deal.
“To my frustration, the White House coordinated the negotiations but never really led them. Officials there seemed content to endorse an agreement if State and Defense could reach one, but without the President’s active advocacy, al-Maliki was allowed to slip away. The deal never materialized,” Panetta said.
