October 18, 2007

Representative Ike Skelton (D-Mo.)

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Mother Jones: How will the power shift in Iraq work, politically speaking?

Rep. Ike Skelton: The government has to assume its duties. I’m very disappointed in the government. It is disappointing that it hasn’t done hardly anything toward reconciliation, such as passing legislation. The parliament is a mess and the whole government is waiting to turn to worms.

MJ: Is there enough stability for the Maliki government to be replaced through an organized, constitutional process?

IS: Well, they had successful elections, but I suppose they will have future successful elections. They were secure, and I can’t see any reason to think you cannot have future elections equally so.

MJ: Do you think the Maliki government has much of a future?

IS: Not unless they get their act together.

MJ: Along the lines of passing legislation, what do you think are some key moves the Iraqi government needs to make to prepare for an American withdrawal?

IS: Well, of course, make sure their military assumes their security. Get their police force operating much better than it is today. Make sure parliament works and represents the people. It is a tough job. Reconciliation is difficult at best, but they are going to have to do it or the whole thing just collapses. Even if you had a huge success on the battlefield, it will be for naught unless the political arm gets its act together. Frankly, I’m very, very concerned about this.

MJ: Let me ask you about some of the things we leave behind in Iraq. What do we do with all of the prisoners who are in U.S. detention centers? What do we do with the military bases we’ve been using?

IS: The military bases are one thing. You can hope the Iraqi military will be in such good shape that they can assume security of their own country. We of course could leave some trainers and advisers there and of course some personnel to guard our embassy, our troops.

MJ: What about the detainees in U.S.-run detention centers?

IS: I don’t have a clue.

MJ: Okay, who makes that decision? Is it the military, the administration, I guess?

IS: Yes.

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate