WASHINGTON — As a growing number of countries and groups have this week urged Iraq to spare Saddam Hussein’s former foreign minister from a death sentence, there has a been a notable silence from one world capital — Washington.
The European Union, the Vatican, the United Nations, Russia, Greece and Amnesty International have asked Iraq to reconsider a court decision to hang Tariq Aziz. They have cited the 74-year-old’s age and poor health, his secondary role in Hussein’s inner circle, and questions about the fairness of his trial.
But U.S. officials, who had a long and sometimes cooperative relationship with the diplomat, have not joined in the calls.
“This is an Iraqi legal process,” said a senior administration official, who declined to be identified because he was speaking on a subject of diplomatic sensitivity. “We are staying out of it.”
Aziz was convicted Tuesday of the torture and killing Shiite Islamist party members. He has one month to appeal the sentence.
The U.S. government is in a difficult position for several reasons, say current and former officials and other analysts. The Obama administration, trying to reduce its role in Iraq, doesn’t want to be seen telling the government what to do.
U.S. pressure on the Iraqi government could backfire by stirring resentment in the government and making Iraqi leaders less likely to give Aziz clemency.
Moreover, it is difficult for Americans to criticize capital punishment in other countries, when American courts order death sentences regularly, diplomats and analysts note.
“It’s mildly awkward for the United States to be taking this position,” said Steven Cook, a Mideast specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations. “But it would be very awkward for the United States, after going to such lengths to try to stand up an independent government in Iraq, to take a position that would look like blatant interference.”
