Transcript of interview with US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski

Hiwa Osman: Thank you very much, madam ambassador. Thank you for accepting the invitation.

I hope we can have a conversation that can make some news as a journalist. We at 964 follow your tweets very carefully. But there are always certain things that we do not see or do not read, and for obvious reasons or understandably in your tweets that we would like and your statements, we would like to see or to learn more about. Let me start with the elephant in the room or the elephant in the region. The U.S. is known to be a leading human rights advocate, and you’ve had some stances in the past. And the Iraqi elite in general, we are talking about, an Iraq-US relationship, a lasting US relationship that is 360. Some of them say we can’t afford to do 360. It is 180, and I’ll come to that in a minute, in my next question maybe. But right now, the Iraqi elite understands the importance of a continued and a long lasting relationship with the United States. But what they are perplexed or baffled with is that the US stance [on] atrocities in the region, starting from the atrocities of Saddam in the eighties all the way to what we are seeing in Gaza today. What do you say to our elite?

Alina Romanowski: Well, first of all, I want to thank very much the organizers of the MERI Forum. You know every year they bring 100 [people], and I see it’s a packed room today, 100s of people, to come and hear from many diplomats, from government officials, from senior leaders, from deep thinkers of the situation, both here and in the region. And I’m very pleased that I can be here today, and again this year to participate in a dialogue that I think is very important. And [one] that advances the knowledge and the thinking of many here in Iraq and around the region. So, thanks a lot for for putting this together.

So, let me talk a little bit about, you know, the role of the United States and our 360 relationship, here in Iraq and what we’re trying to build. That absolutely can continue and has a very important human rights component to it. As you can imagine, 360, not 180. 360 is we do everything.

We want to move the relationship that we have had for the past decades or so from a very heavily focused security relationship, to one that really puts equal weight, maybe even more weight, on things like trade and energy, human rights, governance, building a private sector, supporting the aspirations of the Iraqi people, especially women and youth, in terms of building their future. There have been significant changes, I think over the past two three years, and I think, you know, the United States, as you called us, the big elephant in the room—

Osman: In the region.

Romanowski: But there are other big elephants in the room and in the region.

Osman: Of course, and hence, our 180 my statement about 180, not 360.

Romanowski: And so I’ve been very fortunate to serve in Iraq here over the past two and a half years to help really advance our relationship, in these areas that have been covered in the strategic framework agreement, which is still very much a framework, an agreement that we and the government of Iraq believe is still very useful in charting and setting our relationship. And so this is kind of where we are right now. And it’s been really important. I can get into a lot of other details, but to your point about the situation in the region overall, being able to open up that aperture, to talk with the government of Iraq and, the people of Iraq, about the situation in the region is really important.

And we’ve been able to do that. Those are difficult issues here that countries in the region have grappled with, to include Iraq. But it’s been very much part of our political and diplomatic engagement to talk about the region and how we ensure that this region doesn’t find itself, either intentionally or unintentionally, in a war.

Osman: Thank you. Did you see the Israeli planes flying over Iraq to Iran?

Romanowski: Did I see the Israeli planes? Did you see the Israeli planes flying?

Osman: The embassy. Did the embassy see them? That’s my question. You’re supposed to be protecting our skies.

Romanowski: Did you see them? Well, the United States did not participate in the Israeli strikes. And, Iraq is a sovereign country. And we don’t control Iraq’s airspace.

Osman: Talking of sovereignty, I would like to talk about economy. Iraq’s economy heavily relies on oil, oil revenues, and this is managed by the US Federal Reserve. How do you see the future once there is a 360 relationship? How do you see this relationship materializing, especially with all the current restrictions on Iraq’s trade, sometimes with Iran? I mean, we’ve seen recently Oman and UAE, they can pay the Iranians the few billions that they have for trade, but Iraq always has issues with the US Treasury over being able to pay Iran for energy or for electricity, especially during the summer. How do you see that relationship once we reach 360?

Romanowski: Well, first of all, let me just point out, the US Treasury doesn’t run Iraq’s energy sector nor do we run their economy. I wanna be really clear about that. So I think to answer your your question, we have, as part of our efforts to activate the SFA, in the very first, HCC or the higher consultative council that we we have under the SFA to kind of organize the work that we wanna do. We made back after Prime Minister Sudani came to his position.

We made energy independence, energy autonomy a very important element of our work that we were gonna do together. And that meant a number of things. First of all, it was making sure that the Iraqi government could look at the resources that they have here in Iraq and make sure that they are used most efficiently. And one of the most important components of that was to look at capturing flared gas.

We were very much encouraged by the discussions that were going on with the French company Total[Energies] to help build, and included in their work was gas capture, was more efficient infrastructure. And so building building Iraq’s capacity to use its own resources, was very important.

Osman: But between now and then Iraq needs…

Romanowski:  Well, between now and then, we’ve accomplished a lot on that. It was also working with improving the electrical grid. You need a modern, functioning grid in order to make sure that the Iraqi people don’t experience the kinds of shortages that they’ve seen, so we’ve done that, and we have one of our premier labs, the US Pacific Northwest Scientific Laboratory that’s working on that aspect of it.

So we have tried to tackle, with the Ministry of Electricity, with the government of Iraq, ways in which that we can strengthen and build towards a more independent, self-sufficient, energy sector.

Osman: My question was about us being able to pay Iran. There are some billions of dollars somewhere in some bank that, when you speak to the bankers or the finance people, they say, we cannot pay them because we will run the risk of being under sanctions by the US.

Romanowski: Well, that’s the answer. You’ve given me my own answer, which I was gonna say, which has to do with there are there are sanctions against Iran. And I think those who wanna either find ways to circumvent them or they find themselves violating sanctions will find themselves in real trouble.

Osman: So how can Oman and UAE are not violating the sanctions by paying Iran?

Romanowski: Well, I’m not gonna get into a lot of these details. And but suffice it to say that, the way in which we want to ensure that Iraq has a way to provide energy, electricity, oil, revenues from their very important sector is to have, a modern, technically efficient infrastructure and sector to include, you know, connections with the with their neighbors, which is Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi. There are ways in which we are harnessing that electrical grid in the region to help support, and help Iraq build its independence and its sovereignty. So that it doesn’t have to find itself or have the unpleasant choice of violating those sanctions.

Osman: Okay. So trade with everyone but Iran.

Romanowski: Well, there are ways that the trade is allowed under sanctions and that has to do with the humanitarian assistance. And the Iranians know very well exactly what that means.

Osman: Okay. Because yesterday there was the news that the dollar window will close by December of this year. And this has set off some alarm bells among the banking community as to how they will trade with dollars?

Romanowski: Well, the banking reforms, and that actually has been one of the very positive things that has been going on over the last couple of years. And that is Iraq is now very much part of building the kind of international banking sector that it should have if it wants to be really a member of the international economy. And banks that have corresponding relationships in the international community, with international banks, they have some of them have, will have to restructure themselves. And there there are definitely ways in which they will continue to be able to access dollars.

Osman: Great. We move to the US military presence. Again, it has been an issue that we hear about it a lot in Baghdad, but not in Kurdistan. The Kurds welcome the US presence forever, actually. That’s what I hear from them. When do you think when we hear two stories, we hear from the American side that, yes, we will stay, or we will not stay, but then we will hear from the Iraqis. Some of them say complete withdrawal. And then others say, no, we need to be more prepared. Is Iraq prepared for a complete withdrawal?

Romanowski: I think well, first of all, the joint statement that was issued on September 27th about the transition of the coalition’s military mission in Iraq in about a year, I think is a recognition that the work that the coalition has been doing and the prospect for strengthening bilateral, security and defense relationships is a recognition that the security forces in Iraq, and frankly here in Iraqi Kurdistan, have been making progress to be able to continue the enduring defeat of ISIS, which is the mission of the coalition.

That’s why we were all invited here 10 years ago. That, there is a capability here that has improved and enhanced over time. The decision by the government of Iraq to transition this into bilateral relationships, which many of our friends are here in the audience, is also a recognition that these security defense relationships are important. We expect to be able to continue working on the enduring defeat of ISIS.

ISIS is not down and out, as we have seen recently. But the steady pressure that, we can all, work together on and continue to build the capabilities is a very good decision that was made. It’s not, there are some who don’t agree with it, but we are dealing with the government of Iraq. And those are the decisions that we’ve made together, very much in deliberative fashion over the past year.

Osman: Those who do not agree with it, we see them in in various institutions, especially in Baghdad, not in Kurdistan, as people who are becoming more in control and powerful. How do you plan as part of the transition to the complete withdrawal if that is to happen? How do you plan or how do you think the Iraqis should deal with those who are very much against the US and are closer to the other side in the conflict? How should Iraqis deal or how do you do you see them as a threat to a future bilateral relationship between Iraq and the United States?

Romanowski: I think our discussions and our efforts with the government of Iraq are very much in line to ensure that the security forces answer to the commander-in-chief of this country. Those who believe that they speak on behalf of the government, I think it has been made very clear by the prime minister himself that decisions about the security of Iraq are wholly owned by the government.

Our discussions, and our decisions that we make together about the kind of defense relationship, bilateral relationship we want to build will remain in discussion with the government. I, myself, am optimistic that we will be able to have, the kind of defense and security relationship that was envisioned in the SFA, and that frankly will also help Iraq build its security and ties with the neighbors. Iraq is a very important country that will contribute to the stability of this region. And the more we can be a partner in doing that, the better off Iraq will be in achieving its stability and its security, and frankly, its own sovereignty. And that is a mutual goal that we are trying to achieve in our work that we’re doing together in this transition, and in building a future long term relationship that we’re both that we are committed to.

Osman: Some point in the past, I was an adviser to president Jalal Talabani, and I accompanied him in two visits or many other visits, but I remember two visits distinctly. One in Tehran and one in DC. And he had one message to both sides. He said we do not look at America with an Iranian eye, and we do not look at Iran with an American eye. Could you tolerate that today from Iraqis?

Romanowski:  I’m not sure what you’re asking. Are we tolerating? It’s a question, Iraq is a sovereign…

Osman: Will the United States understand the Iraqi position of having a special relationship with Iran and yet maintain a healthy relationship with DC?

Romanowski: Well, I think that, again, Iraq is a sovereign country, or and it needs to shape its relations with Iran. It has a long history. It has economic ties. It has social ties. It has religious ties. We recognize that. What we ourselves are trying to build is stronger ties between Iraqis and Americans, after 20 years of, more than 20 years, of having, worked side by side on many of these issues. And, you know, frankly, spilling our blood together to make Iraq safe, to make Iraq stable, to make Iraq a democracy. So I think that we are going to pursue the mutual interest that we have, whether it’s on security issues, on education, on building a private sector, on trade, on continuing to support Iraq’s economic development. It has a lot of work that it needs to do on just, you know, strengthening the business environment. So those are the areas where I think we will be concentrating, and encouraging Iraq to work with us.

Our position on Iran is not a surprise to anybody. So I would say right now, the relationship that we have with Iraq is one that’s moving forward on a lot of mutual interests. And and it’s a positive one, all in all. There are lots of challenges, lots of things we have to work through, but frankly, there are lots of challenges and lots of things that Iraq has to work through with many of the countries that would like to be part of strengthening their relationship with Iraq and the Iraqi people.

Osman: On that note, can we move to Kurdistan?

Romanowski: Sure.

Osman: The city where we are in was hit twice with ballistic missiles, and both attacks were in close proximity to the new building, the new consulate building. Weren’t you able to intercept these missiles as we saw when Iran was trying to hit Israel?

Romanowski: You know you’re right. We are building a very nice, new consulate. And we’re very proud of this new consulate. It is a real testament to our commitment to having strong ties with the region and with and advance our relationship with Kurdistan. We are, as part of our work that we do on defense and security, it obviously very much includes, defending and supporting the security and defense requirements of this area. And, we’re gonna continue to be able to do that.

Osman: I know. But the two attacks, one was 1.4 kilometers away from that building. The second one that killed Peshraw Dizeyee was 4.2 kilometers [away]. We, at 964media, drew a map of the span, and it was amazing how we heard nothing from the US consulate.

Romanowski: Well, I would point out exactly who were the ones behind those attacks.

Osman: Iran.

Romanowski: Well, my point is they’re a great neighbor. So what were they doing attacking the Kurdistan and those sites here? That’s a big question.

Osman: So if Iran attacks or Turkey attacks, it’s up to the Kurds. The US has no…

Romanowski: No, I’m not saying that. I’m just saying that you know, we are here. We have always been defending US personnel and US facilities. But part of our future defense discussions are going be about how we build a strong defense for Iraq, if that’s exactly what they are interested in doing.

Osman: So if Iran wants to do something, now is the time, but they shouldn’t attack US personnel, they can attack everyone else.

Romanowski: Well, we’ve made that very clear that anyone who who attacks our personnel and our facilities, we will respond in self defense. That has been very clear, and we’ve said that very clearly and publicly.

Osman: Just US personnel and facilities?

Romanowski: That we are going to protect our facilities and our personnel.

Osman: Thank you. Final question. It’s a Kurdish one again. We often hear from the Kurdish leadership about a special relationship with the United States, and some analysts even call it a one-sided love story. As the son of one of the very first Kurds who made contact with the United States back in the seventies, and I hear his disappointment afterwards in 1975, 88, 91, and later, the question that is in the mind of every Kurd in the region: Does Washington have a Kurdish policy? Do they see the Kurds as Kurds or they see them as good Iraqi citizens, good Syrian citizens, good Turkish citizens, and good Iranian citizens?

Romanowski: Well, first of all, when you say it’s a one-sided love affair, I would disagree with you. I would say it’s a two sided love affair.

Osman: Is it?

Romanowski: Well, I know that the United States has this very strong commitment and a very strong presence and have done a lot of work here in Iraqi Kurdistan. Iraqi Kurdistan has been the beachhead for so many American businesses to come in and establish their foothold in investment, not just in Kurdistan, but also in Iraq. They have invested here, and some of the investments have done very well to the point where it allows them to go in. Some of our franchises started here and are now in Baghdad and other places. Iraqi Kurdistan has really demonstrated that democracy can be strong. Look, the elections that just happened on October 20th, I mean, they were lively and spirited like most elections are. But at the end of the day, it was a huge turnout. What? 72, 74%. I think, you know, that is a really strong model for the elections.

Osman: Do you have a Kurdish policy or an Iraqi policy?

Romanowski: We have an Iraqi policy and Kurdistan is part of Iraq. But it doesn’t mean that we also don’t have our relationship or special aspects of our relationship with Iraqi Kurdistan as we do with other parts of Iraq. Thank You.

Osman: Madam ambassador, thank you so much.