T
Taylor
Guest
Iraqi Prime Minister Snubs U.S. Senate's Call for Decentralization
Friday, September 28, 2007
BAGHDAD - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Friday rejected a U.S.
Senate proposal calling for the decentralization of Iraq's government and
giving more control to the country's ethnically divided regions, calling it
a "catastrophe."
The measure, whose primary sponsors included presidential hopeful Sen.
Joseph Biden, D-Del., calls for Iraq to be divided into federal regions for
the country's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities in a power-sharing
agreement similar to Bosnia in the 1990s.
In his first comments since the measure passed Wednesday, al-Maliki strongly
rejected the idea, echoing the earlier sentiments of his country's vice
president.
"It is an Iraqi affair dealing with Iraqis," he told The Associated Press
while on a return flight to Baghdad after appearing at the U.N. General
Assembly in New York. "Iraqis are eager for Iraq's unity. ... Dividing Iraq
is a problem and a decision like that would be a catastrophe."
Iraq's constitution lays down a federal system, allowing Shiites in the
south and Kurds in the north to set up regions with considerable autonomous
powers. But Iraq's turmoil has been fueled by the deep divisions among
politicians over the details of how it work, including the division of
lucrative oil resources.
Many Shiite and Kurdish leaders are eager to implement the provisions. But
the Sunni Arab minority fears being left in an impoverished central zone
without resources. Others fear a sectarian split-up would harden the violent
divisions among Iraq's fractious ethnic and religious groups.
On Thursday, Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi said decisions about Iraq
must remain in the hands of its citizens and the spokesman for the
supporters of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr agreed.
"We demand the Iraqi government to stand against such project and to condemn
it officially," Liwa Semeism told the AP. "Such a decision does not
represent the aspirations of all Iraqi people and it is considered an
interference in Iraq's internal affairs."
The prime minister also said he discussed the role of U.S. troops and
private security contractors in the country, stressing that Iraq is a
sovereign nation and it should have control over its own security.
Security "is something related to Iraq's sovereignty and its independence
and it should not be violated," he said.
Al-Maliki's comments come after a Sept. 16 shooting in central Baghdad that
killed some 11 Iraqi civilians allegedly at the hands of Blackwater USA
guards providing security for American diplomats.
The North Carolina-based company said its employees were acting in
self-defense against an attack by armed insurgents. Iraqi officials and
witnesses have said the guards opened fire randomly, killing a woman and an
infant along with nine other people, but details have widely diverged.
The Washington Post reported Friday that a preliminary U.S. Embassy report
found the shooting involved three Blackwater teams.
It said one was ambushed near a traffic circle and returned fire before
fleeing the scene, another was surrounded by Iraqis when it went to the
intersection and had to be extracted by the U.S. military and a third came
under fire from eight to 10 people in multiple locations.
The report said the three teams had been trying to escort a senior U.S.
official who had been visiting a "financial compound" back to the
U.S.-protected Green Zone when a car bomb struck about 25 yards outside the
entrance. The official was unharmed, it said.
An unnamed U.S. State Department official described the report to the
newspaper and stressed it was only an initial account.
The New York Times also reported Friday that the shootings occurred as
Blackwater was trying to evacuate senior American officials with the United
States Agency for International Development after an explosion occurred near
the guarded compound where they were meeting.
Participants in the operation said at least one guard continued firing on
civilians while colleagues called for the shooting to stop, according to the
newspaper's account, which cited American officials who have been briefed on
the investigation.
It also said those involved have told U.S. investigators they believed they
were firing in response to enemy gunfire but at least one guard also drew a
weapon on a colleague who did not stop shooting.
American officials have publicly remained mum on their findings pending the
results of a series of investigations.
Also Friday, lawyers gave closing arguments at the court-martial for a
22-year-old soldier accused of killing unarmed Iraqis and planting evidence
to try to cover up his crimes. While prosecutors said Spc. Jorge Sandoval
did nothing to stop the slaughter of unarmed men, his defense lawyers said
he was only following the orders of his superiors in both the April and May
incidents.
The Laredo, Texas, soldier, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, could
face life in prison, if convicted.
The panel was expected to begin deliberations Friday afternoon.
Australia, meanwhile, said it has taken command of the multinational naval
task force guarding Iraq's two oil terminals in southern Iraq for the third
time. The job protecting the vital facilities rotates between Australia,
Britain and the United States.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,298420,00.html
Friday, September 28, 2007
BAGHDAD - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Friday rejected a U.S.
Senate proposal calling for the decentralization of Iraq's government and
giving more control to the country's ethnically divided regions, calling it
a "catastrophe."
The measure, whose primary sponsors included presidential hopeful Sen.
Joseph Biden, D-Del., calls for Iraq to be divided into federal regions for
the country's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities in a power-sharing
agreement similar to Bosnia in the 1990s.
In his first comments since the measure passed Wednesday, al-Maliki strongly
rejected the idea, echoing the earlier sentiments of his country's vice
president.
"It is an Iraqi affair dealing with Iraqis," he told The Associated Press
while on a return flight to Baghdad after appearing at the U.N. General
Assembly in New York. "Iraqis are eager for Iraq's unity. ... Dividing Iraq
is a problem and a decision like that would be a catastrophe."
Iraq's constitution lays down a federal system, allowing Shiites in the
south and Kurds in the north to set up regions with considerable autonomous
powers. But Iraq's turmoil has been fueled by the deep divisions among
politicians over the details of how it work, including the division of
lucrative oil resources.
Many Shiite and Kurdish leaders are eager to implement the provisions. But
the Sunni Arab minority fears being left in an impoverished central zone
without resources. Others fear a sectarian split-up would harden the violent
divisions among Iraq's fractious ethnic and religious groups.
On Thursday, Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi said decisions about Iraq
must remain in the hands of its citizens and the spokesman for the
supporters of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr agreed.
"We demand the Iraqi government to stand against such project and to condemn
it officially," Liwa Semeism told the AP. "Such a decision does not
represent the aspirations of all Iraqi people and it is considered an
interference in Iraq's internal affairs."
The prime minister also said he discussed the role of U.S. troops and
private security contractors in the country, stressing that Iraq is a
sovereign nation and it should have control over its own security.
Security "is something related to Iraq's sovereignty and its independence
and it should not be violated," he said.
Al-Maliki's comments come after a Sept. 16 shooting in central Baghdad that
killed some 11 Iraqi civilians allegedly at the hands of Blackwater USA
guards providing security for American diplomats.
The North Carolina-based company said its employees were acting in
self-defense against an attack by armed insurgents. Iraqi officials and
witnesses have said the guards opened fire randomly, killing a woman and an
infant along with nine other people, but details have widely diverged.
The Washington Post reported Friday that a preliminary U.S. Embassy report
found the shooting involved three Blackwater teams.
It said one was ambushed near a traffic circle and returned fire before
fleeing the scene, another was surrounded by Iraqis when it went to the
intersection and had to be extracted by the U.S. military and a third came
under fire from eight to 10 people in multiple locations.
The report said the three teams had been trying to escort a senior U.S.
official who had been visiting a "financial compound" back to the
U.S.-protected Green Zone when a car bomb struck about 25 yards outside the
entrance. The official was unharmed, it said.
An unnamed U.S. State Department official described the report to the
newspaper and stressed it was only an initial account.
The New York Times also reported Friday that the shootings occurred as
Blackwater was trying to evacuate senior American officials with the United
States Agency for International Development after an explosion occurred near
the guarded compound where they were meeting.
Participants in the operation said at least one guard continued firing on
civilians while colleagues called for the shooting to stop, according to the
newspaper's account, which cited American officials who have been briefed on
the investigation.
It also said those involved have told U.S. investigators they believed they
were firing in response to enemy gunfire but at least one guard also drew a
weapon on a colleague who did not stop shooting.
American officials have publicly remained mum on their findings pending the
results of a series of investigations.
Also Friday, lawyers gave closing arguments at the court-martial for a
22-year-old soldier accused of killing unarmed Iraqis and planting evidence
to try to cover up his crimes. While prosecutors said Spc. Jorge Sandoval
did nothing to stop the slaughter of unarmed men, his defense lawyers said
he was only following the orders of his superiors in both the April and May
incidents.
The Laredo, Texas, soldier, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, could
face life in prison, if convicted.
The panel was expected to begin deliberations Friday afternoon.
Australia, meanwhile, said it has taken command of the multinational naval
task force guarding Iraq's two oil terminals in southern Iraq for the third
time. The job protecting the vital facilities rotates between Australia,
Britain and the United States.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,298420,00.html