MATTHEW LEE
WASHINGTON
John McCain got a call from Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was on the phone to Barack Obama, and to his Democratic running mate, Joe Biden. Nobody called Sarah Palin.
The calls this week were part of the Bush administration’s campaign to line up political support for a compromise deal with Iraq that cedes some authority over U.S. forces, and a courtesy to the presidential hopefuls on whose watch the deal would take effect.
“We are keeping them informed about activities and remember, certainly, they have committee assignments and things like that as senators as well,” White House press secretary Dana Perino said Friday. “One of them is going to win the election, and they will be taking over and having to deal with these issues … So it’s only prudent for us to make sure that we get them the information that we think they need.”
Administration officials insist that although the Alaska governor is the only candidate among the Republican and Democratic White House hopefuls who was not contacted, the omission was not a snub. Initial telephone briefings by Rice, Gates and other senior officials were aimed only at key lawmakers whose support for the agreement is considered essential, according to the White House, Pentagon and State Department. McCain, Obama and Biden are all senators who serve on relevant foreign affairs and military oversight committees.
Asked why Palin didn’t warrant a briefing, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters: “If you hadn’t noticed, she’s a governor, not a senator or congressman.”
Rice on Wednesday briefed Obama, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations committee; Biden, the chairman of the panel; and Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., the committee’s top Republican. She also spoke to key House members.
Gates spoke to McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services committee; Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the committee chairman as well as lawmakers on the House side.
Like Perino, McCormack said the top-level outreach made practical sense in a campaign season.
“Senator Obama is the Democratic presidential nominee and, obviously, is an important political figure in the United States,” McCormack said. “(Either) one of Senator McCain or Senator Obama are going to be president come January. And so just in terms of the courtesy and protocol aspects of this and the practical aspects of this, we thought it was appropriate to make those calls.”
Presumably Palin is an important political figure too. And, like Biden, she has a son currently serving in Iraq who would be directly affected by the so-called Status of Forces, or SOFA, agreement.
The accord calls for the withdrawal of U.S. troops at the end of 2011 and gives Iraq limited authority over off-duty, off-base U.S. soldiers who commit crimes.
Other provisions give the Iraqis a far greater role in U.S. military operations than at any time during the nearly six-year war. Under it, American troops would no longer be allowed to detain suspects or search homes without Iraqi legal authorization except in active combat.
In addition, anyone detained by the Americans must be handed over to the Iraqis within 24 hours, and all detainees currently held by the U.S. must be released or transferred to Iraqi control.
The security agreement would give a legal mandate to U.S. forces to operate in Iraq when the current U.N. authority runs out at the end of the year.
The administration had wanted a deal by August, but talks bogged down over questions of Iraqi sovereignty and U.S. insistence of broad legal protections for soldiers and contractors.
