Written by Sarah Kyle
With the Aug. 31 announcement that the Iraq combat mission has officially ended, senior White House officials invited Mark Elrod, Harding political science professor, and 19 representatives of other faith-based groups to a briefing of the current situations in Iraq and Afghanistan.The meeting was held last Thursday in the Roosevelt Room of the West Wing of the White House and was conducted by Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communication Ben Rhodes.However, before any formal discussion began, Elrod said Rhodes began the briefing rather unexpectedly: with a prayer.”I was really impressed,” Elrod said. “He basically said that given the nature of this group and the subject, he thought it would be good to start with a prayer.”Prime topics of discussion included the current political situation in Iraq and continued conflict and political situations in Afghanistan.”With the [military] conflict [in Iraq] coming to an end, now it turns to the political solutions,” Elrod said. “We didn’t know he was going to talk about Afghanistan or the situation there.”Vice President Joseph Biden said in his Sept. 1 speech in Baghdad that while the military phase of America’s relations with Iraq has ended, the countries will continue to work together for a better Iraqi future.”Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, but American engagement with Iraq will continue with the mission that begins today — Operation New Dawn,” Biden said. “As the name suggests, this ceremony not only marks the change of a command, but the start of a different chapter in the relationship with Iraq.”Elrod said one point stressed by Rhodes was that despite rumors of the U.S. seeking continued military involvement with Iraq, the troops will indeed be gone when they withdraw next July.”He said on the record that we’re not going to stay,” Elrod said. “The conventional wisdom has been that there would be no way that would happen.”As for the situation in Afghanistan, Elrod said Rhodes shared that Afghan president Hamid Karzai, who won the controversial 2009 election, has been orchestrating reconciliation efforts with various tribal leaders — including those who support the Taliban.”[These efforts are] with the understanding that one of the issues that is off the table is anything associated with the portions of the Afghan constitution in respect to minorities,” Elrod said. “There’s been some fear that if the Taliban find their way back into power, they’re going to take away all the rights that have been afforded under the constitution.”Elrod said he was impressed with the Obama administration’s continued protection and concern for women’s and minority rights in Afghanistan.”We went there to prosecute the people who carried out 9/11,” Elrod said. “But maybe staying a little longer for the purpose of ensuring that we leave behind a government that isn’t going to abuse the rights of women — maybe that’s reason enough to stay.”Another key point Rhodes made was the Taliban is no longer strong enough to dominate the entire country’s government, even if the U.S. were to leave immediately.”They have, as a political force, been diminished in such a way that they really are viewed by most of the population as a hardened insurgency that hasn’t won the hearts of most of the people,” Elrod said. “The Americans are actually more respected in Afghanistan than the Taliban right now.”Elrod said he appreciated the opportunity for a group of faith-based professionals to discuss pressing moral and political topics affecting the nation.”There are a lot of moral issues associated with both of these wars,” Elrod said.On a professor-level, Elrod said his participation in the briefing has already improved his ability to teach students about foreign policy and topics.”I appreciate [Harding] giving me this opportunity and making it possible for me to go,” Elrod said. “I think it has immediately made me a better teacher in my field of expertise.”
