The Committee for the Liberation of Iraq (CLI) was set up in late 2002 by Bruce Jackson, a director of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) and former Lockheed Martin vice president. Shortly after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, CLI closed shop, announcing on its website: "Following the successful liberation of Iraq, the committee has ceased its operations."
In an interview with the American Prospect's John Judis, Jackson spoke about the genesis of CLI. He recounted how acquaintances in the Bush administration asked him prior to the Iraq invasion if he could replicate the success he had had pushing for NATO expansion through his U.S. Committee on NATO by establishing an outfit aimed at supporting the administration's campaign to convince Congress and the public to support a war. "People in the White House said, 'We need you to do for Iraq what you did for NATO'," Jackson said (American Prospect, January 1, 2003).
Although the CLI's advisory panel included several hardline Democrats such as former Rep. Stephen Solarz and former Sen. Robert Kerrey, it was dominated by neoconservatives and Republican Party stalwarts like Jeane Kirkpatrick, Robert Kagan, Newt Gingrich, Richard Perle, William Kristol, and James Woolsey. Serving as honorary co-chairs were Senators Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and John McCain (R-AZ).
According to analyst Jim Lobe, CLI seems to have been a PNAC spin-off that consisted mainly of neoconservatives and heavy-hitters from the Christian Right "whose public recommendations on fighting President George W. Bush's 'war against terrorism' and alignment with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the second intifada have anticipated to a remarkable degree the administration's policy course." (See "Committee for the Liberation of Iraq Sets Up Shop," FPIF Policy Report, November 2002.)
The committee's mission statement began: "The Committee for the Liberation of Iraq was formed to promote regional peace, political freedom, and international security by replacing the Saddam Hussein regime with a democratic government that respects the rights of the Iraqi people and ceases to threaten the community of nations."
It concluded: "The Committee for the Liberation of Iraq will engage in educational and advocacy efforts to mobilize U.S. and international support for policies aimed at ending the aggression of Saddam Hussein and freeing the Iraqi people from tyranny. The committee is committed to work beyond the liberation of Iraq to the reconstruction of its economy and the establishment of political pluralism, democratic institutions, and the rule of law."
Though the CLI certainly followed through with its promises to advocate war in Iraq, its supposed commitment to Iraq's post-"liberation" economy and democracy were clearly all empty promises and lip service, as sharply evidenced by the committee's quick closure.
