Iraq's future remains uncertain

WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- Nine days before the United States transfers power to Iraq, how much American involvement there should be in the country's reconstruction remains unsettled.

During a panel on nation building in Washington Monday, participants voiced their fear of violence, lack of a stable economy and fair elections as U.S. attempts at creating a stable infrastructure in Iraq run out of time.

Francis Fukuyama, author and professor at Johns Hopkins University, called for a complete reform of American foreign policy. The panel was sponsored by the New America and Heinrich Boll foundations.

"What we need is on the ground knowledge of political institutions, leaders, culture and history (in Iraq)," Fukuyama said. "There is never one general, one-size fits all template for nation building."

Fukuyama spoke out against the Coalition Provisional Authority, calling the organization's structure a "mistake."

"The CPA ended up building its own institutional capability rather than doing actual work in Iraq itself," he said.

James Fallows, correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly, advocated using foreign policy similar to the cold war to forge a democracy in Iraq.

"It's worth thinking of this effort, this nation building, as a new cold war with a sustained effort over decades," Fallows said.

Michael Lind, author and a senior fellow with the New America Foundation said the United States must first solve it's own security issues before aiding reconstruction of other nations.

"Nine-eleven was a result of a state failure, the United States," Lind said. "We ourselves have failed."