Increasing Civilian Presence in Iraq
The Obama administration is planning on dramatically increasing the civilian presence in Iraq in 2011, once again underscoring the need for consistently robust funding of our civilian foreign policy tools. By October of next year, the State Department will assume responsibility for the crucial tasks of training the Iraqi police; about 2,400 civilians at the Baghdad embassy and other diplomatic sites will be tasked with carrying out the more than 1,200 specific tasks the American military has identified to be handed over to them, transferred to the Iraqis or phased out. The plan to transition to civilian-led operations in Iraq powerfully demonstrates the essential role civilians play in U.S. foreign policy, a role that must be supported with sufficient resources to be effective.
