[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10]
[SE]
[Page 14149]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  DELAY OF IRAQI PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, last February, the Iraqi Government set 
October 1, 2008, as the date for provincial elections to occur. These 
elections are critical to U.S. and Iraqi efforts to bring about 
reconciliation in their country. For instance, those elections will 
give members of the Sunni community, many of whom did participate in 
the previous rounds of provincial elections, a chance to vote for fair 
representation in Iraqi's provincial councils. Unfortunately, the 
provincial elections law, which is the enabling legislation needed for 
these elections to take place, remains stalled in the Iraqi Council of 
Representatives and will likely delay provincial elections by at least 
several months.
  The administration's silence on the Iraqi Government's failure to 
adopt election laws that were promised in February--and which set a 
date of October 1 for those elections--is disturbing, and it is the 
exact wrong way to send a message to the Iraqi leaders. Many of us have 
tried repeatedly to get this administration to shift responsibility to 
the Iraqi leaders for their own future, since there is a broad 
consensus that there is no military solution and only a political 
settlement among the Iraqis can end the conflict. The administration, 
however, has repeatedly missed opportunities to shift this burden to 
the Iraqis and appears willing to miss another opportunity.
  President Bush indicated in February that he was confident that the 
Iraqi Government was ``going to continue to work to make sure that 
their stated objective of getting provincial elections done by October 
of 2008 will happen.'' And after meeting the Iraqi leaders in Baghdad 
in April, Secretary Rice said, ``They know that provincial elections 
need to be held before October 1, as has been the announcement.'' The 
administration is well aware that the failure of the Council of 
Representatives to pass a provincial elections law in the near future 
is likely to cause the previously established October 1 date for Iraqi 
provincial elections to be postponed.
  The recent GAO report, entitled ``Securing, Stabilizing and 
Rebuilding Iraq,'' paints an even bleaker picture. According to that 
GAO report, it is likely to take 4 to 8 months to prepare for elections 
after a provincial election law is passed. That means that even if this 
law was passed next week, the October 1 deadline is unlikely to be met.
  Ambassador Crocker said on April 10:

       The way forward for a stable Iraq lies as much through 
     successful elections, in my view, over the long term, as it 
     does through the necessary application of force against those 
     who resist the state.

  Where is the pressure on the Iraqi Government to keep their 
commitment to an October election? Where is the administration's 
message of disappointment? Iraqi leaders are likely to read the 
administration's silence on their failure to act as a shrug of our 
shoulders.
  We have made some security gains in Iraq, but progress is spotty on 
most political benchmarks set by the Iraqis for themselves, including 
provincial elections. The administration's silence on this issue needs 
to end. It needs to make clear to the Iraqi Government that further 
delay in passing the provincial election law is totally unacceptable.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________