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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Talabani blasts Arab states |
| 2005-09-06 |
| Iraq's Kurdish president, Jalal Talabani, issued a bitter rhetorical broadside against other Arab countries today, saying they had insulted Iraq by not sending diplomats to Baghdad and had not sent condolence letters about the stampede last week in which almost 1,000 Shiite pilgrims were killed. The president spoke just after two dozen insurgents staged a brazen dawn raid on the heavily guarded offices of Iraq's Interior Ministry in Baghdad, killing two police officers and wounding five, and two British soldiers were killed by a bomb in southern Iraq. Speaking at a news conference, Mr. Talabani echoed and amplified complaints by other Iraqi leaders about the Arab states' failure to recognize the stampede, which stunned Iraqis and caused the highest one-day death toll since the American invasion. The complaints, coming largely from Shiites and aimed at the Arab world's Sunni leaders, hinted at a sectarian bias against Iraq, where Shiites are about 60 percent of the population. "We stood with our Arab brothers in their hard times," Mr. Talabani said. "For instance, we sent a letter expressing our condolences on the terrorist attack which claimed a lot of innocent lives in Sharm el Sheikh." Iraq's prime minister, Ibrahim Jaafari, hinted at a similar criticism today when he was asked about the emir of Qatar, who donated $100 million to the American victims of Hurricane Katrina but nothing to the victims of the stampede. "I'm not condemning what he did, but he should think of Iraq," Mr. Jaafari said. The comments by Mr. Talabani and Mr. Jaafari came at a time of heightened tension with other Arab nations. Last week Amr Mousa, the secretary of the Arab League, issued a public criticism of Iraq's new constitution - largely written by Shiites and Kurds - in which he echoed the criticisms of some Sunni Arabs in Iraq. The Sunnis have opposed two provisions in particular: one that would create largely autonomous federal regions, and one that describes Iraq as an Islamic country but not an Arab one. Some Iraqi leaders asked why Mr. Mousa was willing to denounce the new draft constitution now, after the Arab League had been notably silent about Iraq's lack of a constitution or basic human rights under Saddam Hussein. Mr. Talabani also said the two major Kurdish political parties had agreed to support Sunni demands for language in the constitution declaring Iraq an Arab nation. Although the charter was presented to the country's constitution last week, there have been talks in recent days aimed at making final revisions that might win Sunni support. If the document is not modified, some leading Sunnis have said, they will organize a campaign to defeat it when it goes before Iraqis in a national referendum on Oct. 15. A delegation of Sunni leaders visited Kurdistan today to discuss the constitution and their participation in future elections, Mr. Talabani said. Mr. Talabani also complained about the lack of Arabic diplomatic representation in Baghdad, calling it "an insulting issue for the country." Iraq and the United States have urged other Arab countries to send diplomats here, in hopes that the gesture would bolster the Iraqi government's legitimacy and undermine support for the insurgency. But risk is also clearly an issue. In July, two Algerian diplomats and an Egyptian diplomat were abducted and killed by insurgents. Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the terrorist group led by Abu Musab al Zarqawi, claimed credit, and has threatened to kill any Arab diplomat in Baghdad. The attack in Baghdad today began at 6:30 am, when four black BMW sedans raced up to a checkpoint outside the Interior Ministry, officials said. Firing belt-fed machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, the group of about two dozen insurgents fought the ministry guards for 15 minutes before driving away. American Blackhawk and Apache helicopters could be seen flying over central Baghdad for hours afterwards, as United States Army foot patrols hunted the attackers on the streets of the capital. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 It is about time for Talabani to go after the Arab League. Jaafari needs to do it too. They also need to take it up two notches. E.G. "Amr Moussa's comments have given aid and comfort to the terrorists." |
| Posted by: mhw 2005-09-06 08:11 |
| #1 Article: Iraq's prime minister, Ibrahim Jaafari, hinted at a similar criticism today when he was asked about the emir of Qatar, who donated $100 million to the American victims of Hurricane Katrina but nothing to the victims of the stampede. "I'm not condemning what he did, but he should think of Iraq," Mr. Jaafari said. This guy's a nutjob. Uncle Sam is the ultimate guarantor of Qatar's sovereignty. Iraq is the biggest threat to Qatar's independence, along with Iran. Why would Qatar give a plug nickel to Iraq? Qataris are probably telling him to go @!@$ himself. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-09-06 01:11 |