Iraq's Honest Power Broker: The U.S.

In addressing the threat posed by Islamic State, President Obama has emphasized that there is no American military solution to the crisis in Iraq and noted that only a more inclusive Iraqi government can hold the country together. So far, however, Obama has been far more specific about the military campaign in Iraq than the diplomatic mission. That needs to change.

Iraq’s long history of violent sectarianism prevents Iraqi Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds from initiating or sustaining talks. But each group accepts the U.S. as a neutral arbiter. That’s why the Obama administration should push for the creation of an Iraq reconciliation commission, which would mediate between all groups, but especially between Iraq’s discontented Sunni leaders and the primarily Shiite central government in Baghdad.