Biden Addresses Iraqi Leaders in Anbar Province

[The Straight Story]

BIDEN Addresses Iraqi Leaders in Anbar Province

Washington, DC – Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) was in Iraq today and addressed the Anbar Reconstruction Forum in Ramadi. The forum, which brought together Iraq’s leaders – including Iraq’s two Vice Presidents, Adel Abdul-Mahdi and Tareq Al-Hashimi, Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh, the Governor of Anbar Province Maamun Sami Rashid and leading tribal sheiks– promoted cooperation between the Iraqi national government and local leaders in fighting extremists and developing Anbar Province.

Sen. Biden was asked to address the forum and made the following remarks:

“AsSalam Alaikum. My name is Joseph Biden and I am a United States Senator from the state of Delaware. I am accompanied by Senator Blanche Lincoln from the state of Arkansas. Thank you for allowing us to observe this forum and for inviting me to speak to you.

“What you are doing here today is important. You have taken bold decisions in al Anbar to fight the forces of destruction and to work together for Iraq’s future. This new cooperation is also urgent.

“America wants you to succeed – and we will do everything we can to help you succeed.

“But America’s patience is limited. We cannot want peace, stability, prosperity and justice in Iraq more than you do. Iraq’s future is in your hands. Only you can seize it.

“In the early days of America’s republic, the United States were not united. No one wanted a strong central government. We built one country by bringing problems and responsibilities down to the local and regional level, as you are doing here in al Anbar.
“Like you, we found that by giving people control over the fabric of their daily lives – security, education, jobs – government was more responsive to the needs of the people. And the people began to focus more on what united them than on what divided them. Once people regain control of their lives locally, they are more inclined to think nationally.

“I hope the national government will recognize and support the efforts you are making here to build better lives and lasting security. And that it will make the hard compromises necessary to bring all Iraqis together in a common future.

“These are difficult days, but as you are proving, you can forge a future for Iraq that is brighter than the past.

“Thank you for allowing us to join you today. May God be with you.”

http://biden.senate.gov/newsroom/details.cfm?id=281962&

[lyonn]

1. Excellent speech by Biden

Told the American story without making a dissertation out of it. Sets the groundwork for what he, Biden, has been discussing for over a year. Let the local govt. take more control. A huge central govt. probably scares the Iraqis as much it did our founders.