Iraq’s Shiite front-runner pledges power to Sunnis in new government

U.S. sends retired army general to assess military operations

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Compiled by Daily Star staff
Iraq‘s Shiite political front-runner Abdel-Aziz Hakim said Friday that the country’s Sunni minority would be guaranteed posts in the next government, regardless of the outcome of the elections. Meanwhile, the Pentagon, concerned over a bold and growing insurgency in Iraq, is sending a retired Army general to Iraq to review U.S. military operations and the training of Iraqi forces, defense officials said on Friday.

Despite the rising violence, a confident George W. Bush said the vote will be “an incredibly hopeful experience,” a day after nine U.S. troops were killed.

Speaking in an interview, Hakim said: “Whether the Sunnis have many or few seats in the next parliament, we need the real participation of all.” He said: “All must participate in the governmental authority and we will insist that they [Sunnis] be represented in the government, that they have posts and they should also have a voice in drafting the constitution and responsibilities in the government.
This is what we are seeking to achieve.

” The comments were the most explicit to date by the Shiite leader concerning the Sunni minority, who are largely expected to skip the vote due to political disenchantment and fear of insurgent attacks. Earlier in the week, Hakim, the head of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, and his coalition urged Sunnis to cast their ballots, but stopped short of any explicit promise of a role in government.

Hakim’s comments also come amid more calls by Sunni religious leaders to delay the polls. During Friday prayers, Sheikh Mahmoud Al-Somaidie of the Sunnis’ Association of Muslim Scholars called for unity among Muslims but repeated Sunnis’ demand that the vote be delayed. “Elections have to be an Iraqi demand, not the demand of the foreign countries. For that reason, we have to be unified and agreed on one word to free Iraq from the occupation,” he said But Hakim was adamant that even if Sunnis boycotted the polls, the Shiites would seek incorporate them into the next government.

“If such things happen, we must take into consideration all of their interests. The permanent constitution should be accepted by all components, by all the people of Iraq, except for the terrorists,” he said. An internal U.S. State Department poll leaked on Thursday found only one-third of Iraq‘s Sunni community was likely to vote.

Amid increasing unrest, The New York Times reported that U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was sending Gen. Gary Luck, who formerly headed U.S. forces in South Korea, to Iraq next week to provide an assessment within weeks.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, confirming the move, said Luck, who is also an adviser to the military’s Joint Forces Command, would chiefly assess progress in the training of Iraqi security forces but also look at overall U.S. operations in the guerrilla war. “Obviously, he [Luck] has a tremendous amount of expertise in understanding coalition operations,” said Whitman.

“I’m sure he will share what he learns with the combatant commanders there as well as the leadership back at the Pentagon.” Senior U.S. defense officials, who asked not to be identified, said the Luck trip – which will include a small team of military specialists – reflected concern in Washington about dealing with insurgents in the short term with Iraqi national elections scheduled for Jan. 30. In the latest attack against U.S. forces, a bomb tore apart an armored fighting vehicle in Baghdad Thursday, killing seven U.S. soldiers, while two U.S. marines died in the volatile western province of Al-Anbar. It was the largest number of U.S. troops killed in a single attack since last month’s suicide bombing in a military mess hall at a Mosul base that killed 22 people, including 14 U.S. service members.

With elections due on Jan. 30, Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi extended emergency laws for 30 days in a bid to thwart ongoing violence. On Thursday, Allawi said he expected attacks would increase before the vote and called the decision to prolong the state of emergency a precaution. He blamed former members of Saddam Hussein’s regime for the continuing violence. Bush’s administration and Allawi have insisted that the elections go forward. Bush was optimistic Friday insisting most Iraqi regions would be able to organize the vote on schedule. “I know it’s hard for a reason, and the reason is that there is a handful of folks that fear freedom,” Bush said. He acknowledged security problems in four of Iraq‘s 18 provinces. The other provinces “appear to be relatively calm,” he said.

9-1-2005

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