Senator Dick Lugar has closely followed the situation in Iraq for more than a decade and has actively exercised Congressional oversight responsibilities through the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. From January 2003 to December 2006, Senator Lugar was Chairman of the Committee and chaired more than 30 hearings on Iraq. Since becoming the Republican leader of the Committee in January 2007, Senator Lugar has participated in more than 20 hearings on Iraq.
2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006/2005
March 5, 2010 — Senator Lugar served as an official election observer of the Iraqi Parliamentary elections at a polling place in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. "These elections are essential to the long term political stability and economic progress in Iraq," Senator Lugar said. "Iraqis have sacrificed much and endured greatly in their efforts to fight terrorism, find peace and build democracy."
January 12, 2010 — Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Lugar (R-IN), both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, expressed their strong support for Iraq’s commitment to greater transparency in its oil and gas industry.
Senators Lugar and Cardin, along with eight other co-sponsors, recently introduced the Energy Security Through Transparency Act (S. 1700), a bipartisan bill that aims to increase transparency through public disclosure of oil, gas and mining payments and encourages U.S. participation in EITI, an international coalition of governments, companies and civil society that promotes good governance through the publication of oil, gas and mining revenues). Iraq formally announced its intention to become a candidate country in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) on January 12, 2010, following years of growing interest in the initiative from Iraqi leaders.
October 7, 2009 — At the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Confronting Al-Qaeda: Understanding the Threat in Afghanistan and Beyond, Senator Lugar said in his opening statement, "The largest al-Qaeda affiliate, though greatly diminished, remains al-Qaeda in Iraq. Some of its foreign fighters are returning home to local terrorist branches. But al-Qaeda’s leadership continues to be an operational and ideological threat that requires our strongest efforts."
September 10, 2009 —In his opening statement at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Iraq: Report from the Field, Senator Lugar said, "There are positive signs in Iraq, but the political accommodation sought by the U.S. has not come about."
At the same hearing, Senator Lugar asked Christopher R. Hill, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, to describe the security arrangements Iraqis are providing for themselves, the perception of those arrangements by Iraqi citizens, and how much security is going to be required to remove American military equipment from Iraq.
April 21, 2009 —Senator Lugar made a statement on the Senate floor in support of Christopher R. Hill to be U.S. Ambassador to Iraq. In his comments he said, "Across the region, and internationally, the incentive structure for involvement in Iraq is fundamentally different than it was two years ago. I have appreciated Ambassador Hill’s accessibility to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and I am hopeful that the Senate will move forward on his nomination."
March 24, 2009 — Senator Lugar discussed the state of agriculture in Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa, exploring how young people and U.S. embassy staff might become more involved in development work. He commented on the difficult situation that exists in the region in terms of developing a viable farming infrastructure to feed the people. Additionally, Senator Lugar said, "I have seen very little testimony about feeding the people of Iraq without humanitarian aid or through producing their own food…this gets back to the issue of having the need for coordination on this issue at the White House level for Iraq now that it has become not only a national security issue, but also a humanitarian issue." Read more on food security and the Senator Lugar’s policies.
October 17, 2008 — Senator Lugar made a statement on the Strategic Framework and Status of Forces Agreements with Iraq, stating "I have urged since the Warner-Lugar amendment in 2007 that this agreement be negotiated because of its importance in moving the Iraqis toward genuine sovereignty and transitioning our own force presence into a conventional status like that which we have with many friends and allies around the world."
April 8, 2008 — In 2008, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held six hearings in ten days on Iraq. At the April 8, 2008, hearing with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and Commander of the Multi-National Force-Iraq General David Petraeus, Senator Lugar called for "a strategy that anticipates a political end game and employs every plausible means to achieve it." In addition, below are links to each of his committee statements on Iraq in 2008: