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Arab League Decries U.S. Actions in Iraq
The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq is threatening the Iraqi and regional stability by empowering Kurdish and Shiite Muslim groups, according to an Arab League report. The report, drawn up by an Arab League delegation that visited Iraq in December, is circulating among the 22 members of the Cairo-based Arab League but has not been made public. It reflects concerns among Arab countries that changes in the sharing of power in a post-Saddam Hussein government could give too much authority to the Kurdish and Shiite Muslim groups, inspiring those minority groups in neighboring countries to rise up and demand more power.
| Kurds in Syria, Turkey, and Iran, Shiites in Soddy Arabia and the Gulf States... |
Arab states are predominantly Sunni, but Sunnis in Iraq have dominated politics — even though the Shiites make up 60 percent of the population. The only other places where Shiites dominate in population and political power is non-Arab Iran. The Saudi leadership have long feared unrest among its minority Shiite community. "Iraqis find geographical and ethnic federalism a prelude to division of the country," said the report, which does not name the country's Shiites but uses the term "sectarianism" to refer to Shiite and Kurdish political aspirations.
| Think of it as one of several possible alternatives... |
The Shiites are pushing for majority representation in the government. Kurds, who have gained authority in the north of Iraq, seek federal autonomy from the government in Baghdad.
| A hiite-controlled state would result in an even larger Shiite majority when the Kurds broke off. I suspect the Sunnis would do the same. |
The leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Jalal Talabani, rejected the report. The PUK is one of two main Kurdish parties controlling Kurdish northern Iraq. "Those chauvinists are trying to demonize federalism to scare simple-minded people and poison their minds," Talabani wrote in an article published Saturday in the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat.
| That's why they call themselves the Arab League, rather than something a little more inclusive... |
The Arab League delegation, headed by Assistant Secretary-General Ahmed Bin Heli, spent 10 days in Iraq meeting with members of the U.S.-appointed Governing Council, the Cabinet, religious leaders, tribal chiefs and trade union representatives. Its findings will be formally submitted to a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in March and later to an Arab summit.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2004-02-08 |
