Remarks
on Iraq
John Kerry, Secretary of State
Washington, DC
August 7, 2014
President Obama has acted
expeditiously and appropriately in authorizing targeted military action and
providing significant humanitarian assistance to the people of Iraq at this
very difficult moment when it is vitally needed.
The stakes for Iraq’s future
could not be clearer, and today’s crisis underscores the stakes profoundly.
ISIL’s campaign of terror against the innocent, including Yezedi and Christian
minorities, and its grotesque and targeted acts of violence bear all the
warning signs and hallmarks of genocide. For anyone who needed a wake-up call,
this is it. ISIL is not fighting on behalf of Sunnis. ISIL is not fighting for
a stronger Iraq. ISIL is fighting to divide and destroy Iraq – and ISIL is
offering nothing to anyone except chaos, nihilism, and ruthless thuggery. With
a gut-wrenching humanitarian crisis unfolding, and the rolls of the starving
and sick growing daily, there’s not a minute to waste. The United States is
acting and leading, and the world cannot sit by and watch innocents die. We
will continue to coordinate with our allies in the region and the international
community to assist Iraqis to confront ISIL’s brutal ideology which poses a
severe threat to Iraq, the region, and the United States.
President Obama has been
unequivocal that he will do what is necessary and what is in our national
interest to confront ISIL and its threat to the security of the region and to
our own long-term security. He has been equally clear, as I have on my visit to
Iraq and in all my conversations with Iraqi and regional leaders, that the only
durable way to stop ISIL is for Iraq’s real leaders to unite and form an
inclusive government as rapidly as possible within their own constitutional
framework, including the selection of a prime minister. Iraq’s leaders must
confront the growing humanitarian and security crisis with the urgency that it
demands. They must do so knowing that ISIL finds an inadvertent, unwitting ally
in any delay in the political process inside Iraq. Only ISIL wins if Iraqi
political leaders avoid making tough choices rapidly to tip the balance in
favor of inclusive and effective governance.
The safety and security of our men and women serving overseas is fundamental. Every day we wrestle with difficult choices to keep our people safe. I will remain closely engaged with Ambassador Beecroft, Deputy Assistant Secretary McGurk, and our team on the ground as we work to ensure that our personnel in Erbil, Baghdad, and across Iraq are secure. |
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