U.S. congressional Democrats said on Sunday Iran and Syria need to be made part of a Middle East meeting on Iraq, but Republicans insisted the United States' adversaries should first agree to conditions.Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who is expected to head the Senate Armed Services Committee in the new Congress in January, said a solution in Iraq required the involvement of the two neighbors "whether we like it or not. And we don't."
Speaking on CNN's "Late Edition," Levin said it was likely a bipartisan group examining options for Iraq led by James Baker, the former U.S. secretary of state, would call for Iran and Syria to be included in the diplomatic efforts on Iraq.
Baker's group has already met several times with Syrian officials to discuss how they could cooperate. The move would force the U.S. administration to deal with Tehran and Damascus, which it has resisted. President George W. Bush is under pressure to change his Iraq policy after his Republican Party suffered a severe setback in Nov. 7 elections.
Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas said Iran must first agree to drop its nuclear ambitions, while Syria should agree to stop insurgents from crossing the border into Iraq and fomenting a Sunni insurgency. "I think it depends on their behavior if they would be a positive force. But it does take prerequisites," she added.
Still, Hutchison said it was important other countries in the Middle East are brought together to help end the violence in Iraq. "I think it is time for the others in the region to start taking some responsibility on Iraq," Hutchison said. "I think we can have a good solution there."
But Levin, who backs a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq starting within four to six months, said getting Tehran and Damascus to agree to conditions would take time. I would notify the Iraqis and the neighbors that we're going to begin that phased reduction because I believe that is the pressure point on the Iraqis," he said. "That is the pressure point on the neighbors who do not want Iraq to disintegrate."