Rend Al-Rahim Francke - Politics and Advocacy

Politics and Advocacy

In 1991, Francke established the Iraq Foundation in Washington, D.C., to lobby for democracy, human rights and regime change in Iraq. In her role as executive director she represented the foundation with government and non-government institutions, including speaking before Congress to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Francke has been an ally of the Bush administration in its Iraq foreign policy and is sympathetic of its neoconservative foreign policy. She is quite liberal though with respect to domestic policy. A staunch secularist, she did not cover her hair when she was ambassador for Iraq and continues to oppose fundamentalist politics in Iraq. She was part of the 'Committee for the Liberation of Iraq' which was set up to lobby Congress to pursue the administration's goal of invading Iraq and removing Saddam Hussein from power. In 2002 she testified in front of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee and emphasized the long-term commitment needed to rebuild Iraq. She promoted 'Nation Building', emphasizing law and order as well as the prevention of retribution. In particular she did not want a repeat of the Afghanistan operation where the United States minimized its immediate efforts in its rebuilding after the fall of the Taliban, calling such an operation, "a hit-and-run". She also thought it unlikely that Iraq would break up into three components.

Francke was appointed to the position of Iraqi ambassador to the United States on November 23, 2003. This was very unusual given that she was also a United States citizen. However in October 2004 she was forced to resign due to American pressure for various reasons. They included the fact that she had made critical comments over U.S. handling of post-war Iraq in testimony to Congress and on TV interviews, that she was a cousin and close associate of Ahmed Chalabi, then under investigation for leaking intelligence to Iran, and for her apparent refusal to lead a delegation on a visit to wounded U.S. troops at Walter Reed Army Hospital.

In 2004, she was a guest of Laura Bush in the First Lady's Box at the State of the Union address. The Iraq Foundation (an organization she co-founded) itself help set up the Iraq-America Freedom Alliance which has tried to stress the positive impacts of the American invasion and occupation of Iraq. It describes its mission as publicizing "the stories of Iraqis and Americans who are building a secure, stable and democratic future in Iraq." She has said that she is disappointed with the post-war reconstruction effort, especially the initial lack of planning. However she continues to support the administration and its policies particularly as they have grown more determined to stabilize Iraq and has confidence that the US administration can be successful. On April 27, 2007, she appeared on the O'Reilly Factor and argued strongly for the United States' presence in Iraq.