WASHINGTON, May 15 (UPI) -- Mistakes and uncertainties have dominated U.S. strategy in Iraq, said two U.S. senators said this week.
"If [the Iraqi] government stands up and it's credible, I think you'll see additional support from other countries drawn into this complicated equation. The rest of the world will see that (the United States has) delivered a government," said Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Armed Services Committee of the U.S. Senate, speaking Monday at a Council on Foreign Relations event, "Iraq: the Way Forward."
Divisions persist within Iraqi leadership over the naming of the heads of two key ministries: energy and defense, Warner said. According to Iraqi law, the new government must be complete by next Monday.
"If we don't wait patiently for another few days or weeks to come, we could lose it all," Warner said.
"Where we are today is a very precarious situation. Our entire focus is on a new government coming into being. If they fail to reach a government, then [Iraqi President Jalal Talabani] will have to start all over again. We've got to do something if this government does not meet expectations," he said.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said allowing militias to take control of the country and failing to court Sunni Muslims in Iraq caused the United States to lose support at home and abroad for their efforts in Iraq.
Warner said he could support a proposal by Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., that would divide Iraq into three regions: Kurd, Sunni and Shiite, but not at this time. "We shouldn't, I think, be focusing on those options at this time. Leave it on the table for the future but not now," he said.
