Hambley explains current state of affairs in Iraq

Date: 2/15/2018

SPRINGFIELD – Ambassador Mark Hambley believes the recent media sound bites that ISIS has been defeated in Iraq really mean that ISIS has been defeated in the cities in Iraq that it was occupying and controlling.

Hambley recently sat down for an interview with Reminder Publications and FOCUS Springfield on its program “Government Matters” upon his return from a trip to Iraq. He and his wife live in Springfield.

Hambley has had a career in the State Department and diplomacy for more than 30 years. He has had 14 foreign postings, many of them in the Middle East, including service as the ambassador to Lebanon and to Qatar. Although he retired in 2005, he is still very much involved in Middle Eastern issues. He works with the New Century Foundation and founded The Arabia Felix Foundation, which is working to preserve historic artifacts and sites in Yemen.

Hambley explained ISIS was in control of an area the size of Great Britain and was being supported by $6 billion in revenue.

“That has all been diminished now,” he said.  He added, though, “They are very much on the scene.”

ISIS members have been responsible for terrorist bombing in Iraq and Hambley said that until these operatives are rooted out they would probably continue. He said the bombings are a “great concern” to the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Jawad Kadhim al-Abadi.

There are 5,200 American military personnel in Iraq and Syria as advisors, Hambley noted. Some of these troops are being re-deployed to Afghanistan.

Baghdad is “very much a functioning city,” Hambley said. Roads have been cleaned up and the infamous road to the airport – known for its multiple bombing – is repaired and much safer. Western-style hotels are coming back to the city and neighborhoods are strengthening, he added.

Schools have always been function and Hambley explained, “Education is a very high priority for Arabs and schools go on regardless.”

Hambley said, “It used to said that Egyptians wrote the books, the Lebanese printed them and Iraqis read them because Iraq is an incredible place. The equality of the sexes was introduced very early on following the revolution in 1958. Women always had professional jobs – doctors, dentists, engineers.”

Although the government is more conservative since the fall of Saddam Hussein, women are still pursing professional careers.

“The country is functioning, but the difficulty is it’s not up to where it should be,” he said.

When asked how Americans are perceived in Iraq, Hambley replied, “That’s a complicated question. It depends on where you ask it.”

He explained traditionally in the three Kurdish area Americans have been “very popular” as Americans were seen as the ethnic minority’s savior from Saddam Hussein who was practicing genocide on them.

This attitude changed last September when that situation became more complex as Kurdish fighters become involved with a group NATO member Turkey.

The rest of Iraq the reaction is mixed, he said. Iraqi Catholics don’t care for Americans as the invasion caused many Moslem Iraqis to turn on their Christian neighbors, most of whom have fled the nation.

“Students still have hope for us, but I think generally speaking Americans are not as highly regarded as we would like to be. I think all over the Middle East Americans have sort of gone down in terms of estimation of our country’s standing. That’s been a process since the Iraq invasion that has not really improved much,” Hambley said.

With the change of presidential administrations often come changes in foreign policy and reaction to the United States. “I think one would be surprised that President Trump is popular in many circles in the Middle East, until the Jerusalem decision, which lowered that a little bit. Saudi Arian, many Arabs like Trump’s views on fighting Iran which is considered a threat by many Sunni countries, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain … they like his approach much more than President Obama’s.”

Obama lost credibility when his administration did not support the brokering of a peace effort between Israel and Palestine, Hambley said. He added Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also made some mistakes in Egypt during the Arab Spring.

“It changes depending upon the issues. Like anybody they look at what we’re going to do for them. If you are perceived you’re not doing something for them of course they look elsewhere. At the moment Saudi Arabia likes the United States because we’re supporting them very strongly on their adventures and misadventures in Yemen, a terrible mistake on their part. We’re supporting them on their confrontation with Iran. We’re supporting them in terms of military supplies, which is what they want,” Hambley explained.

To illustrate the complexity of the Middle East, Iraqis are grateful for American assistance in helping to drive ISIS out of Iraqi cities, but Hambley noted that Iran brought in more fighters to confront ISIS fighters. The terrorists had come as close as 30 kilometers to the Iranian border and Iran feared ISIS could get close enough to shell the country.

Recalling Iran and Iraq had fought a very bloody eight-year war, Hambley said today Iran doesn’t want a repeat of that conflict, part of the motivation to send in military forces.    

“Iran wants to keep Iraq in its pocket because they do not want to see [another war],” Hambley said.

To watch the full 54-minute interview go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfp4tBFhQGM&feature=youtu.be.