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Iraqi PM says two years âmore than enoughâ to secure country
LONDON - Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said two years would be âmore than enoughâ to establish security in his country, a task US Defence Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld believes may take up to 12 years.Following talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, al-Jaafari said such factors as building up Iraqâs own security forces, controlling the countryâs porous borders and pushing ahead with the political process would all help end the violence. âI think two years will be enough, and more than enough, to establish security in our country,â he said Monday. Asked about al-Jaafariâs comments, Rumsfeld told a Pentagon news conference on that âI recognize things I donât know, and thatâs one of them. ... There are so many variables that I would be reluctant to pretend that I could look into that crystal ball and say, X number of months or X number of years. I canât.â On Sunday, Rumsfeld said âthat insurgency could go on for any number of years. Insurgencies tend to go on five, six, eight, 10, 12 years.â
Rumsfeld also acknowledged that US officials have met with some insurgents - an approach Britain has also employed as it tries to bring stability to the country, Blair disclosed Monday. âItâs our job politically to pull as many people into the political process. That is an engagement not just by the Iraqi government, but by the Americans, ourselves, others. Everybody,â Blair told a news conference Monday. âWe are not compromising our position with terrorism or any of the rest of it. We are simply trying, perfectly sensibly, to pull as many people into the democratic fold as possible.â Later, in a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart, Blair refused to give further details of the contacts with insurgents. âI would not exaggerate what is happening here,â he told reporters, when asked if Britain and America were coordinating their efforts. âIt is a sensible part of trying to make sure you are bringing as many people into the democratic process as possible.â Al-Jaafari said he had no objection to the United States and Britain having âdialogue with all the political forcesâ so long as they were not engaged in violence. âWe have not negotiated with anybody who has been involved in bloodshed or explosions,â he added. Blair said there was a spectrum within the insurgency, ranging from Jordanian-born Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, Iraqâs most-wanted terrorist, and others who are âutterly implacable,â to those who âarenât engaged in violence but are sympathetic to the violence.â âAnd then in the middle (there are) some people who may be involved in the violence or not,â Blair said. âWhat itâs trying to do is to make sure ... you get those people for example in the Sunni community ... to recognize their best way forward is participating in the December elections,â Blair said. Members of Iraqâs Shiite-dominated government are hoping more Sunnis will turn out for the planned December vote for a full-term government. Posted by: Steve White 2005-06-28 |
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