Lawmakers try to see hotspots beyond Iraq

Even as the Iraq war dominates Congress’s time and consumes its political capital, many senators are calling attention to other nations that may become breeding grounds for instability and terrorism.

From the new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on international terrorism to a sit-down with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, senators seized on multiple forums yesterday to broaden their focus beyond Iraq. While the Senate geared up for a marathon war debate, a slew of amendments remained on the defense authorization bill that would help remodel U.S. relations around the globe.

{mosads}Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), a veteran Armed Services Committee member and lead sponsor of the majority’s preferred Iraq withdrawal language, acknowledged his concern that “the whole focus on Iraq has taken the wind out” of the rest of the work done on the defense measure.

Reed singled out the situation in Pakistan, which he said “can go wrong quickly.” Pakistan’s government is battling to save last year’s peace accord with pro-Taliban tribal chiefs in a mountain region bordering Afghanistan, as it seeks their help to drive out al-Qaeda-linked terrorists.

That peace accord has been blamed for an increase in attacks on U.S. troops over the border in Afghanistan. The NIE also raised alarms about Pakistan’s tribal areas, calling them a “safe haven” for al-Qaeda members.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) agreed that the unstable political climate in Iran, Syria, Israel and other nations requires congressional attention. But he also turned a weary eye to Iraq.

“Things never emerge on the calendar because people know there is no money and no will to do anything else,” but Iraq, Rockefeller said. “The best you can do is push ahead as well as you can on all fronts.”

Senators are moving ahead with a host of amendments to the defense bill, which leaders may be forced to pull from the floor if the Iraq debate derails.

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) has a plan to withhold $200 million in aid to Egypt until its government certifies progress on combating terrorism. Virginia Sens. John Warner (R) and Jim Webb (D) have offered a compromise to temper the defense bill’s curbs on aid to Thailand, where a recent coup has renewed concerns about the future of democratic governance.

Asked whether lawmakers’ emphasis on Iraq risks drowning out debate over military and economic aid strategies elsewhere, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) affirmed his concern.

“It’s drowning everything out around here,” Harkin said.

Even Republicans echoed those qualms about the consequences of an Iraq-only debate.

“So much of this debate is looking at Iraq through a soda straw and ignoring other things around it,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said.

“It is a cause for real concern, because the absence of democracy is the absence of the rule of law,” said Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), who is proposing to add stronger sanctions on the Iranian government to the defense bill.

During the secretary-general’s visit yesterday with Foreign Relations Committee members, discussion centered on Iran, Kosovo and Darfur as well as Iraq. In fact, he declined to address Congress’s anti-war moves after the meeting ended, telling reporters: “It is not my place to inject myself into any domestic debate.”

Democratic leaders also capitalized on the NIE as another argument for shifting resources from the conflict in Iraq toward fighting al-Qaeda and its affiliates worldwide.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) played up the NIE’s conclusion that “the greatest threat we face to the U.S. homeland comes from al-Qaeda’s senior leadership apparently based in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border regions, not from Iraq.”

“We’ve been so singularly focused on Iraq that we’ve left ourselves vulnerable in other parts of the world,” Democratic Caucus Secretary Patty Murray (Wash.) said.

Both houses of Congress already have exerted their power over the controversial Eastern European missile shield, which has opened a bitter rift between Washington and Moscow. Democrats have chastised the administration for failing to build European support for the plan and for advancing deployment of missile-defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic despite incomplete testing.

The House defense authorization bars spending on the missile sites and requires the administration to report on its plans to win allies’ support. Similarly, the Senate version, as of now, recommends cutting $85 million from the administration’s missile defense request and requiring the Pentagon to reach agreements with Eastern European nations.

Yet President Bush pushed forward Monday with his missile defense plans, shrugging off congressional objection and Russia’s vow to pull out of a major arms control treaty — widely seen as a retaliatory move.

Despite some senators’ efforts to influence foreign policy outside of Iraq, several others welcomed the dominant war debate as a means to reforming relations with other nations.

“In some ways, it will raise the issue of foreign policy and international relations in general, because if we are successful in bringing our troops home, what we simultaneously have to do is develop a new approach, a smart approach to fighting international terrorism,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said.

Senate Majority Whip Dick  Durbin (D-Ill.) conceded that Congress should be focused “on all global threats…period,” but added that the loss of U.S. soldiers’ lives in Iraq is keeping attention focused there.

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said that Iraq is “such a challenge for us today” that there is no alternative but to dwell on the issue.