Democrats: Regional diplomacy needed to curb crisis in Iraq

SALEM – U.S. Rep. John Tierney issued a challenge Monday to Iraq?s embattled government and joined fellow Democrats in saying the time has come for Iraq?s neighbors to help calm the turmoil engulfing the country.?The Iraqi government is going to have to figure it out or they are going to have a divided country,” Tierney said.Tierney and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, campaigning on Tierney?s behalf Monday in Salem, said the return of United States troops to Iraq does not make sense.?I?m very skeptical of military intervention: We tried that and saw what happened,” Warren said.One of Tierney?s Democratic primary opponents in this year?s election cycle agreed and said he opposes putting troops on the ground in Iraq or launching U.S. airstrikes against forces seizing Iraqi cities from Iraq?s army.?You can?t effectively control them without people on the ground,” said Seth Moulton.Moulton?s resume lists his Marine Corps service in Iraq from 2003 to 2008 and, on Monday, Moulton said his military service took him to some of the areas in Iraq seized by the Islamic State of Iraq during its ongoing advance on the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.The Associated Press on Monday reported an Iranian general is in Iraq advising the nation?s military and militia leaders. Tierney said Iran – Iraq?s neighbor – has “an interest greater than ours” in Iraq?s stability and said the United States has to keep its options open while Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki tries to figure a way to guide his nation out of its latest crisis. Warren said “looking for a regional solution may create options,” and Moulton said U.S. allies, like Israel and Saudi Arabia, as well as Iraq?s neighbors, including Jordan and Turkey, should be included in a U.S. effort to “engage the region diplomatically.”Moulton said Saudi Arabia views Iraq as “a buffer” between Iran and said Saudi worries about Iraqi instability must be taken seriously by the United States.?Our priority with Iran has to be preventing them from getting a nuclear weapon,” he said.Republican congressional candidate Richard Tisei, in a statement Monday, wrote: “Recent events across the globe have made it clear that the U.S. must take an active leadership role in the world to protect and uphold the interests of the United States and our allies.”Attempts to reach Democrat Marisa DeFranco were unsuccessful.Tierney suggested humanitarian aid could figure in to U.S. efforts to help bring stability to Iraq.