Bush administration factionalism seems to have returned, although media coverage thus far makes it very difficult to discern the contours of the debate and the key factional players.<\/p>\n
On November 13, 2006, the Washington Post<\/em><\/a> published an Op-Ed by a relatively unknown figure, Monica Duffy Toft, who argued that the US should pick a winner in the Iraqi civil war and–at least as I interpreted the article<\/a>–US money should be on the Shia.<\/p>\n I also noted at the time<\/a> that there were still many anti-Shiite voices<\/em> arguing the opposite, including an author named Tim Greene, identified as Chief of the Anti-terrorism training section under the U.S. Department of Justice\/International Criminal Investigations and Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) at the Jordan International Police Training Center (JIPTC) at Camp Muwaqqar, Amman–currently tasked to train a majority of the Iraqi Police Service (IPS) cadets for the Ministry of Interior in Iraq.<\/p>\n At the same time, this Op-Ed “civil war” between Monica Duffy Toft and Tim Greene was also playing out at a much higher level in Washington.<\/p>\n The locus of at least some of the new factionalism seems to surround a series of “secret” Veteran’s Day meetings, first reported by Robin Wright on November 15, 2006 in the Washington Post<\/em><\/a>. The meetings resulted in the launch of a formal “Iraq Policy Review,” distinct from James Baker’s Iraq Study Group and a military review by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.<\/p>\n On November 16th, Laura Rozen published an Op-Ed in Los Angeles Times<\/em><\/a> that cited unnamed sources suggesting that one option under consideration was a “tilt toward the Shiites,” and–implicitly, at least–an abandonment of efforts to court the Sunni insurgency<\/em><\/strong>. Rozen reported that the “Shiite option” was one proposed in a paper authored by National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.<\/p>\n Although Rozen does not identify her sources, it is interesting that she does appear to have talked to Monica Duffy Toft who is quoted in Rozen’s article.<\/p>\n On November 17th, Charles Krauthammer published a Washington Post<\/em><\/a> column that I interpreted<\/a> as part of a new “tilt” toward Shiites.<\/p>\n That same day, there was also news<\/a> from Iraq that the Shiite-dominated Iraqi Interior Ministry had issued an arrest warrant for Harith al-Dhari, leader of the Association of Muslim Scholars and one of the central figures linked to the Sunni insurgency in Iraq.<\/p>\n About ten days later, on November 27, 2006 came news that another key insurgency figure–Izzat Ibrahim, Saddam’s former deputy–had publicly urged insurgents to reject US reconciliation efforts<\/a>.<\/p>\n It was also at this time that the first signs began to emerge of a Bush administration split over James Baker’s Iraq Study Group and its call for direct dialogue with the incumbent regime in Iran.<\/p>\n Exhibit A in the sniper attacks on Baker’s Group was an extraordinary November 27, 2006 New York Times<\/em><\/a> article that featured an unnamed “intelligence official” linking Iraq’s Sadrist Mahdi Army to Iran via Lebanon’s Hezbollah.<\/p>\n Exhibit B was offered up in a November 28, 2006 Washington Post<\/em> article<\/a> by Robin Wright and Thomas Ricks:<\/p>\n [I]n a sign of the discord in Washington<\/strong>, the senior U.S. \tintelligence official<\/strong> said the situation requires that the \tadministration abandon its long-held goal of national reconciliation and \tinstead “pick a winner” in Iraq. He said he understands that means the \tSunnis are likely to bolt from the fragile government. “That’s the price \tyou’re going to have to pay,” he said…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And, this same intelligence official appears to have also talked to David Ignatius<\/a> about the “pick a winner” approach and seems to be the same figure making allegations about the Sadr-Hezbollah-Iran link. This from the Wright and Ricks Post<\/a> <\/em>article:<\/p>\n The intelligence official said that he “never saw any evidence” that \tSadr’s organization sent personnel to Lebanon this summer to fight against \tIsrael, but said he had heard talk that some were sent there to be \ttrained by Lebanese members of Hezbollah, an organization funded by Iran’s \tShiite government<\/strong>.<\/p>\n He said there was evidence that the Iranian government this year had \tescalated its efforts inside Iraq.<\/p>\n “The whole year, yes, it has stepped up,” he said. “More training in and \tout of Iraq. More coordination with Hezbollah. More advisers.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So, the key point here is that the so-called “Shiite option” is decidedly not<\/em> a pro-Iranian option in the mind of the faction that wants the US to pick a Shiite winner.<\/p>\n The option of backing Iraqi Shiites against<\/em> Iran is not a new plan for Iraq. This is not Plan B or Plan C. This is Plan A. It is the original Right Zionist plan for dual rollback in Iraq<\/a> and Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n If this plan is on the table again, it marks one more flip-flop on Iraq that seems to move to the rhythm of domestic US politics<\/a> and confirms my pre-mid-term election sense that the final two years of the Bush administration might be the most dangerous of all.<\/p>\n David Ignatius named the so-called “80 percent option<\/a>” back in November 2004, just after the Presidential election. What followed was the year of the Shiite–US-backed Iraqi elections in January 2005, a constitutional referendum in October 2005, and another election in December 2005, all of which enhanced the political power of Iraqi Shiites.<\/p>\n All of this took place over the objections of Right Arabists like Brent Scowcroft who warned against elections in Iraq<\/a>.<\/p>\n Today, however, there are complications and confusing signs regarding the factional politics of the 80 percent option.<\/p>\n Zelikow the Zelig<\/strong><\/p>\n On the one hand, there is the November 28, 2006 abrupt resignation of Philip Zelikow<\/a>, a top aide to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and a figure touted in the media<\/a> as a Scowcroft-style Realist, i.e., a Right Arabist.<\/p>\n His resignation could easily be read as a protest<\/em> against the Shiite option.<\/p>\n On the other hand, in a December 1, 2006 Washington Post <\/em>article<\/a>, Robin Wright–the Washington Post<\/em> reporter most closely associated with the entire story of the Iraq Policy Review, the Shiite option, and the decision to back away from negotiations with Sunni insurgents–says that Zelikow is the author<\/em> of the Shiite option plan and, presumably the leader of the faction championing such a plan.<\/p>\n The Bush administration is deliberating whether to abandon U.S. \treconciliation efforts with Sunni insurgents and instead give priority to \tShiites and Kurds, who won elections and now dominate the government, \taccording to U.S. officials.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The proposal, put forward by the State Department as part of a crash White \tHouse review of Iraq policy, follows an assessment that the ambitious U.S. \toutreach to Sunni dissidents has failed…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Some insiders call the proposal the “80 percent” solution<\/strong>, a term \tthat makes other parties to the White House policy review cringe<\/strong>. \tSunni Arabs make up about 20 percent of Iraq’s 26 million people…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n State Department counselor Philip D. Zelikow, author of the proposal<\/strong>, \targued that the United States has compromised its prospects of success by \treaching too far, according to the sources.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n At the same time, Wright reports that the “Zelikow” proposal has met with fierce resistance from all of the other<\/em> Right Arabist, <\/em>“Realist” <\/em>factional players:<\/p>\n The proposal has met serious resistance from both U.S. Ambassador Zalmay \tKhalilzad and military commanders in Iraq, who believe that intensive \tdiplomatic efforts to bring Sunni insurgents into the political process are \tpivotal to stabilizing the war-ravaged country, the sources said…<\/p>\n Khalilzad, who has spearheaded U.S. outreach to the Sunni leadership, has \tdeveloped a long list of steps to accommodate Sunni concerns, from a \tpossible amnesty to changes in the hydrocarbon law that distributes oil \twealth<\/strong>, which is located mainly in Shiite and Kurdish regions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n No surprise in Khalilzad’s position. But it is strange that Wright reports it is against Zelikow–a fellow traveling “Realist” that Khalilzad allegedly battles.<\/p>\n And<\/em> Wright never mentions<\/em> that Zelikow–presumably the “victor” in any move toward the 80 percent solution–has resigned<\/em>!<\/p>\n So did Zelikow resign in protest against the 80 percent solution or does his resignation signal defeat for the 80 percent option that he allegedly sponsored?<\/p>\n Is it possible Wright simply has the facts wrong when she links Zelikow to the 80 percent option?<\/p>\n Finally, there is reference in the Wright article to the hydrocarbons law. As I have previously argued (here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>), the hydrocarbons law is central to ongoing battles over Shiite (and Kurdish) demands for regional autonomy. Any new Shiite option would attempt to shift the balance of power in Iraq from Moqtada al-Sadr–the leading Shiite opponent of regional autonomy–toward SCIRI’s Ayatollah Hakim–he leading proponent of Shiite regional autonomy–who is scheduled to visit Washington this week<\/a>.<\/p>\n