AP interview with US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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US ambassador Ryan Crocker accused Iran of trying to interfere with a new security pact between Iraq and the United States on Sunday, and said Americans need to view Iraq with "a sense of strategic patience" because the stakes in the region are so high. The 37-year veteran diplomat made the comment from his embassy in Baghdad. Crocker is in the middle of tough negotiations with Iraqi officials to define the basis for a continuing American military presence in the country beyond the end of this year. The talks hit an impasse recently and are taking place against a backdrop of increasing calls in the United States for a US withdrawal and declining interest in the war itself from many members of the American public. Crocker struck an emotional note in discussing the recent accomplishments in Iraq, including a sharp decline in violence across much of the country and some preliminary steps towards political reconciliation, such as last week's agreement to schedule provincial elections by January 31. However, he warned those gains could be in jeopardy unless the US stays "engaged" in the country, adding that now was no time "to lose interest or to lose focus" The talks on the military pact have hit an impasse recently over US insistence on retaining sole legal jurisdiction over American troops and differences over a schedule for the departure of the US military. Iraqi officials have said they want all foreign troops out by the end of 2011. The 59-year-old Crocker, who became ambassador in March 2007 and who is expected to leave his post around the end of the Bush administration, is one of the most experienced diplomats in the Middle East. He has served as ambassador in Lebanon, Syria and Kuwait, and was ambassador to Pakistan before his appointment to Iraq. He said it is becoming obvious that Iran wants to see the current negotiations fail. In spite of Iran's insistence to the contrary, Crocker said Iran "would like to keep Iraq off balance as a way of being able to control events here". The negotiations for a long term security agreement are being carried out with the government against the deadline of an expiring United Nations Security Council resolution at the end of this year that provides the legal basis for more than 140-thousand US forces in the country. If and when an agreement is reached, it still must be ratified by the Iraqi parliament, where it faces strong opposition. If the talks fail, the United States would have to go back to the United Nations to seek an extension of its mandate to be in Iraq, a potentially difficult move diplomatically. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/11848bb4083fb2a1b77379c3b7d35201 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork