August 8, 2002

The Honorable Colin Powell
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20520

Dear Mr. Secretary:

I congratulate you and the Department of State on your ongoing efforts to bring democracy and stability to Iraq.  Your efforts have been historic, and the future holds a promise of freedoms that the people of Iraq have never known yet have desired throughout the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. 

On Friday, August 9, 2002, the Department of State is sponsoring a meeting of the Iraqi opposition groups that will figure prominently in a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq.  I applaud this effort, as I have long believed that support for the Iraqi opposition should be the centerpiece of our efforts to end the Saddam Hussein dictatorship.  In previous such meetings, efforts have been made to include representatives of the major ethnic groupings of Iraq.  The Arabs (both Sunni and Shi'a), the Kurds, the Assyrians and the Turkmen have all been integral partners in a peaceful transition of power from the current dictatorship.  It is essential that these groups continue to have a voice in the future of Iraq.

In particular, I understand that the Assyrian people comprise approximately two million of the twenty-two million citizens of Iraq.  These people are not of Arab descent; they are Christian and are ethnically dissimilar from the other major groups in Iraq.  The Assyrians have been coalition partners of the opposition for nearly twenty years.  They mobilized a militia both before and during the uprising after the Gulf War, and maintain an armed observation force in Northern Iraq to this day.  They have paid their dues in blood and are entitled to the fruits of their efforts.

Further, the United States would do well to protect such a diverse ethnic minority from possible abuses by the government that will succeed the current dictatorship.  We have an important interest in maintaining our special place in history as the protector of those who are in need.  The Assyrian people in Iraq certainly fall into that group.  It would be a mistake to start the process of determining the aftermath of Iraq without the representation of one of the most significant minority groups in Iraq.

For these reasons, I would hope that you could invite a representative of the Iraqi Assyrian community to the August 9th meeting.  Specifically, I would urge you to consider inviting Mr. Yonadam Yousif Kanna, Secretary General of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM), to participate in this meeting and other such meetings in the future.  He is the choice of the Assyrian Coalition which is made up of the five largest Assyrian groups in the region.

Again, congratulations, and thank you in advance for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,
Henry J. Hyde
Chairman,
Committee on International Relations
House of Representatives