Former Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer urged the immediate pullout of American forces from Iraq Monday night, in an address delivered for the Rabbi Arthur Schneier Center for International Affairs.
Kurtzer, once the U.S. ambassador to Egypt and then to Israel (2001-2005) — also a graduate and previous dean of Yeshiva College — spoke in the Weissberg Commons to an audience that included other dignitaries and members of the press, as well as the college’s students, faculty and alumni. While his remarks focused on the implications of what he called “the Summer Vacation War,â€? the recent conflict between Lebanon and Israel, Kurtzer also stressed that the United States is endangering itself and Israel by continuing to occupy Iraq.
“The longer the U.S. is bogged down in a war which is not getting better and we’re not winning,� he said, adding “the longer the U.S. will not be able to turn its attention to issues of greater importance.�
Kurtzer explained that while the U.S.’s initial success in Iraq in 2003 had gained Israeli support for the war because it shattered the long-feared Eastern Front, removing the possibility that Iraq would build an Arab coalition across the Jordan River into Israel, the current situation in Iraq poses new “direct and indirect threats to Israel.� He cited the unrest and unpredictability of the region as having a heavy impact on Israel, and reiterated that the U.S. must withdraw from Iraq so that it would be able to address other issues in the international arena.
Kurtzer did not elaborate on what issues he thought the U.S. should address in the body of his remarks, but in a response to a student question about whether Iran had been funding Hisbollah, he called Iran “a focal point of international concern,� stating that Iran not only supported terrorism but had been trying to acquire nuclear weapons for a number of years. “Iran is a problem not just for Israel and the U.S., but for international security,� he said. “If Iran can be found as a threat [by the United Nations], stronger action can and should be taken.�
Acknowledging fears that the U.S. will cause further chaos in Iraq by withdrawing too soon, Kurtzer said that he “saw no alternative that would represent any better chance of success.� He outlined possible approaches to softening the withdrawal, even recommending the U.S. talk with Iran and Syria, countries which have great influence in the region but whose relations with the U.S. have become increasingly strained. Kurtzer also cautioned against encouraging Kurdish ambitions too much during the withdrawal process, saying, “If the Kurds believe they have another opportunity to gain independence, we will only have ushered in a period of more bloodshed, and we’ll be drawn into it again.�
Kurtzer stated that the U.S. also needed to be able to destroy terrorists, but said that this goal remained unachievable as long as its armed forces were deployed in Iraq, labeling the war there “[a] venture not producing outcomes in the war on terrorism.�
The ambassador’s address was attended by several prominent figures in the Yeshiva University community, including Rabbi Yosef Blau, the Mashgiach Ruchani of Yeshiva University, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, known for her work in women’s health and Hadassah, and Rabbi Arthur Schneier.
While Kurtzer’s remarks were enthusiastically embraced by Westheimer, who praised his diplomatic capabilities, others were unimpressed by the ambassador’s suggested approaches. “It was too vague,â€? said Blau, commenting on Kurtzer’s argument for withdrawal. “He didn’t say anything earth-shattering, he never really got past the superficial layer…he just brushed on the surface of the issues involved,” Blau asserted, adding “And there’s no evidence that the hard-line approach works; killing more terrorists is not proven to work — they’ve tried all of this before.â€?
A Stern College political science major, Aviva Horowitz, said that while she felt there was “a lot of soundness to what he was saying,� she also found Kurtzer’s suggested withdrawal from Iraq to be “impractical.� While she agreed that a pullout within the next few years was necessary, Horowitz said that an immediate withdrawal would allow other countries vying for power within the region to exploit the current state of anarchy in Iraq.