Center’s Kyl and Woolsey warn against negotiating

In the wake of the submission to President Bush and the Congress of the Iraq Study Group’s report, members of that unelected, unaccountable commission have insisted that all of its recommendations must be adopted fortwith. ISG co-chairman James Baker went so far as to declare: "I hope we don’t treat this like a fruit salad and say, ‘I like this, but I don’t like that. I like this, but I don’t like that.’"

Two of the Nation’s foremost national security practitioners – Republican Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona and former Clinton Director of Central Intelligence R. James Woolsey – have written an open letter to President Bush urging him not to accept the ISG’s recommendations in toto. They note that "people of good will and expertise from both parties can – and in many cases do – come to very different conclusions than those offered by the ISG."

In particular, the two Honorary Co-Chairmen of the Center for Security Policy’s bipartisan National Security Advisory Council warn against one of the commission’s most controversial and ill-advised ideas: opening direct negotiations with Iran and Syria. Senator Kyl and Director Woolsey wrote:

In our view, opening negotiations with Iran (and Syria) as suggested by the ISG will have several undesirable effects.

 

• First, such negotiations will legitimate that increasingly dangerous regime and reward its violent and hostile actions against us and our allies. We should rather endeavor to discredit and undermine this regime.
  
• Second, such a course will embolden our enemies who already believe they are sapping our will to resist them.
  
• Third, such an initiative would buy further time for the Iranian mullahs to obtain and prepare to wield weapons of mass destruction.
  
• Fourth, entering into negotiations with Tehran’s theocrats will create the illusion that we are taking useful steps to contend with the threat from Iran – when, in fact, we would not be. As a result, other, more effective actions – specifically, steps aimed at encouraging regime change in Iran – will not be pursued.

The Center for Security Policy applauds Messrs. Kyl and Woolsey for conveying in this open letter what is on the minds of millions of Americans: We cannot safely and constructively negotiate with enemies determined to destroy us and should not try to do so with respect to Iran and its colony, Syria. The Center thanks President Bush for his determination to date to reject such counsel and strongly supports him in continuing to do so.