Our chief diplomatic officer these days?
I don't watch the news 24-7, but it seems to me when Petraeus said there is no military solution on Iraq back in March, it should have been code for "Paging Dr. Rice, Dr. Rice needed in the Green Zone, stat!"
But no...
According to the state department website, since Petraeus' statement suggesting the many other tools of foreign policy are needed to resolve the civil war in Iraq, Condoleeza has not been to Iraq. Not once, and yet, by my count, more than 580 U.S. troops and close to 12,000 Iraqis have died since Petraeus' early March statement.
Condoleeza, however, has made time in her busy schedule for the following trips since Petraeus sounded this alarm bell:
March 8-14: Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico
March 23-27: Egypt and Jordan
April 25-27: Norway
May 1-4: Egypt
May 13-16 Russia
May 29 – June 1: Europe
June 4: Panama
June 23-26: France
July 18-20: Portugal
July 30-August 2: Egypt and Saudi Arabia
But Condoleeza's reticence about visiting Iraq and working with the "boots on the ground" to structure a real and lasting peace is not limited to 2007.
In 2006, while my youngest was on an extended 15 month tour of Anbar Province, Condoleeza paid three visits to Iraq and spent a total 6 days in country. While my son's unit mourned the deaths of their own and the simultaneous news their tours had been extended, Condi returned stateside and bought shoes.
In 2005, while my eldest son was on his second deployment to Iraq and nearly lost his life in an ambush trying to prevent insurgents from Syria from spilling over the border, Condoleeza spent two days during the entire year there in Iraq.
I keep hearing our President say "Iraq is the central front on the war on terrorism," and how crucial it is to secure victory in Iraq for America's safety and security for the future. And then I remember the times Congress has had to increase the debt and the many times the President has asked for supplementals to fund more war.
If he is sincere about securing peace and stability in Iraq, why isn't Condoleeza stationed there and showing just how serious the U.S. is about securing the peace? Why hasn't the president been there more than three times since he started the war in Iraq? Why isn't Dick Cheney living within the Green Zone, brokering that much needed peace within Iraq's factions?
How stupid we are as a country to continue to engage in this dialogue of "Do we continue to fund the war / listen to Petraeus' recommendations/ set redeployment dates" when our chief diplomatic officer has deemed the mission of so little consequence she has spent less than ten days in country in the past four years!