Allawi’s Three Letters to America

Iyad Allawi, the former Iraqi Prime Minister, sent three letters to U.S. President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in which he stated his opinion of the situation in Iraq.

Iyad Allawi’s office announced that Allawi had sent the letters to the American leaders on the 20th and 22th of January. In his letter to Obama, Allawi reminded the new president that premature withdrawal from Iraq is an important issue, but that Iraq must achieve reconciliation, construct national institutions, and control the situation on the ground. Allawi asked in another letter to Vice President Joe Biden to focus on national reconciliation and political reformation, considering that these issues will support the rebuilding of Iraq.

Allawi emphasized that achieving Iraq stability will be an impossible mission without reconciliation and political reformation, and that sectarian political allocation must be avoided. In his letter to Secretary Clinton, Allawi supported the efforts to establish regional stability, clarifying that Iraqi political leaders will be glad to work with the U.S. in this matter.

The announcement did not provide further details about the three letters, and there was no indication as to whether Allawi received a response to his letters.