Rend al-Rahim Francke

Rend al-Rahim Francke (born 1949) is an Iraqi political activist who often appears on various current affairs programs. [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11541484/ Civil war may threaten unification of Iraq - Hardball with Chris Matthews - MSNBC.com ] ] cite news |url= http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june07/sadr_04-16.html |title= Al-Sadr Loyalists Resign from Iraqi Cabinet |work= PBS |date= 2007-04-16 |accessdate= 2007-04-18] She held the position as Iraqi ambassador to the United States. She is considered to be a secularist trying to enable Iraq to transition to a liberal democratic model.

Personal life

Francke was born in Baghdad to an affluent family and spent some of her childhood there. Her background is unusual in that her father is a Shiite Muslim and her mother is a Sunni Muslim. She went to boarding school in England and later studied at Cambridge University where she earned a Masters Degree in English and at the Sorbonne. She worked as a banker and a currency trader in Lebanon and Bahrain, as well as London. Her family moved to England in 1978 and later emigrated again, this time to the United States in 1981. She became an American citizen in 1987. [cite news |work= The New York Times |date= 2003-11-23 |section= 1; Column 1 |page= 16 |first= Susan Sachs |title= Foreign Desk]

Rend is married and has one child, Christopher, who currently attends the Johns Hopkins University and is an amateur DJ. [cite web |url= http://www.hassouni.net/ |title= Hassouni Efendi |first= Chris |last= Francke |date= 2007 |accessdate= 2007-04-18]

Politics and Advocacy

In 1991, Rend 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. [cite news |url= http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/08/01/senate.iraq |title= Experts: Iraqis 'eager for change' from Saddam |date= 2002-08-01 |accessdate= 2007-04-18 |work= CNN]

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.cite web |url= http://inthenameofdemocracy.org/en/node/34 |title= 'Democracy Promotion' and Neo-Liberalism in the Middle East |first= Adam |last= Hanieh |work= [http://inthenameofdemocracy.org/en In the Name of Democracy] |date= 2006-03-16 |accessdate= 2007-04-18] 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 November 2002, Stephen Hadley, Deputy National Security Adviser at the time, called Lockheed employee Bruce Jackson to a meeting at the White House and asked him to help advocate for a war on Iraq. [cite news |url=http://www.playboy.com/magazine/features/lockheed |first= Richard |last= Cummings |title= Lockheed Stock and Two Smoking Barrels |accessdate= 2007-04-18 |work= Playboy Magazine]

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. [cite web |url= http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/08/01/senate.iraq/ |title= Experts: Iraqis 'eager for change' from Saddam |work= [CNN] |date= 2002-08-01 |accessdate= 2007-04-22]

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.cite news |work= The New York Post |date= 2004-07-16 |title= Ingrate: Iraq Diplo Axed FOR Dissing GIs |page= 1 |first= Niles |last= Lathem] cite news |work= The New York Post |date= 2004-10-15 |title= Ingrate: Envoy Who Snubbed GI Heroes Quits |page= 18 |first= Niles |last= Lathem]

In 2004, she was a guest of Laura Bush in the First Lady's Box at the State of the Union address.cite news |work= The New York Times |date= 2004-07-05 |section= A; Column 1 |title= The Reach of War: The Ambassador |page= 8 |first= Jennifer |last= Lee] 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. [cite web |url= http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/1475 |title= Foundation for the Defense of Democracies |work= [http://rightweb.irc-online.org Right Web] |date= 2006-09-26 |accessdate= 2007-04-18] It describes its mission as publicizing "the stories of Iraqis and Americans who are building a secure, stable and democratic future in Iraq." [cite web |url= http://www.untoldiraq.org/story/index.cfm |title= Iraq-America Freedom Alliance |date= 2007 |accessdate= 2007-04-18] 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. cite news |url= http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june07/sadr_04-16.html |title= Al-Sadr Loyalists Resign from Iraqi Cabinet |work= PBS |date= 2007-04-16 |accessdate= 2007-04-18] [cite web |url= http://www.usip.org/pubs/usipeace_briefings/2007/0307_crisis_interfaith.html |title= The Crisis in Interfaith Relations in the Middle East |first= Paul |last= Wee |month= March | year= 2007 |accessdate= 2007-04-18 |work= [http://www.usip.org United States Institute of Peace] ] [cite news |url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/july-dec04/iraq_7-15.html |title= Search For Stability |date= 2004-07-14 |work= PBS] On April 27, 2007, she appeared on the O'Reilly Factor and argued strongly for the United State's presence in Iraq.

Views

Francke is a supporter of the United States and the Bush administration, but also has heavily criticized its role, which many believe led to her resignation. Moreover, Francke also criticized the role of Iraqis towards the United States. In a recent interview conducted by the Greater Good Science Center, Francke said, " I think there's a great deal of negligence. It's not evil; its negligence and insensitivity..and I don't think it's possible to keep a healthy relationship unless you show that you care about a person, or a group of people, on a continuing basis." Francke claims that sympathy and empathy on both sides are needed if Iraq is to be repaired. She concludes, "It is all a question of showing that you care about the other, that you're in a partnership - not a relationship of occupier and occupied. You're not in a relationship where it's the all-powerful and the powerless."

full interview can be found at [http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/greatergood/current_issue/qa.html]

Bibliography

* Fuller, Graham E.; Francke, Rend Rahim (2000). "The Arab Shi'a : The Forgotten Muslims". Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-22178-9.

References