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| Iraq |
| Iraqi Leaders Support Murtha's Plan |
| 2005-11-22 |
| Reaching out to the Sunni Arab community, Iraqi leaders called for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces and said Iraq's opposition had a "legitimate right" of resistance. The communique — finalized by Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni leaders Monday — condemned terrorism but was a clear acknowledgment of the Sunni position that insurgents should not be labeled as terrorists if their operations do not target innocent civilians or institutions designed to provide for the welfare of Iraqi citizens. Have any of the attacks fallen in that category? The leaders How many leaders? WHo do the polls say? agreed on "calling for the withdrawal of foreign troops according to a timetable, through putting in place an immediate national program to rebuild the armed forces ... control the borders and the security situation" and end terror attacks. Now there's a plan! Why didn't we think of that? The preparatory reconciliation conference, held under the auspices of the Arab League, was attended by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani Did he support the plan? Was he one of the leadersand Iraqi Shiite and Kurdish lawmakers as well as leading Sunni politicians. Sunni leaders have been pressing the Shiite-majority government to agree to a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign troops. The statement recognized that goal, but did not lay down a specific time — reflecting instead the government's stance that Iraqi security forces must be built up first. On Monday, Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr suggested U.S.-led forces should be able to leave Iraq by the end of next year, saying the one-year extension of the mandate for the multinational force in Iraq by the U.N. Security Council this month could be the last. "By the middle of next year we will be 75 percent done in building our forces and by the end of next year it will be fully ready," he told the Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera. Debate in Washington over when to bring troops home turned bitter last week after decorated Vietnam War vet Rep. John Murtha called for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, and estimated a pullout could be complete within six months. Republicans And nearly all the Demsrejected Murtha's position. In Egypt, the final communique's attempt to define terrorism omitted any reference to attacks against U.S. or Iraqi forces. Delegates from across the political and religious spectrum said the omission was intentional. They spoke anonymously, saying they feared retribution. "Though resistance is a legitimate right for all people, terrorism does not represent resistance. Therefore, we condemn terrorism and acts of violence, killing and kidnapping targeting Iraqi citizens and humanitarian, civil, government institutions, national resources and houses of worships," the document said. It's nice they can make the distinction. I'm not sure Zarq can. The final communique also stressed participants' commitment to Iraq's unity and called for the release of all "innocent detainees" who have not been convicted by courts. It asked that allegations of torture against prisoners be investigated and those responsible be held accountable. The statement also demanded "an immediate end to arbitrary raids and arrests without a documented judicial order." WHo's making arbitrary raids? The communique included no means for implementing its provisions, leaving it unclear what it will mean in reality other than to stand as a symbol of a first step toward bringing the feuding parties together in an agreement in principle. "We are committed to this statement as far as it is in the best interests of the Iraqi people," said Harith al-Dhari, leader of the powerful Association of Muslim Scholars, a hard-line Sunni group. He said he had reservations about the document as a whole, and delegates said he had again expressed strong opposition to the concept of federalism enshrined in Iraq's new constitution. The gathering was part of a U.S.-backed league attempt to bring the communities closer together and assure Sunni Arab participation in a political process now dominated by Iraq's Shiite majority and large Kurdish minority. The conference also decided on broad conditions for selecting delegates to a wider reconciliation gathering in the last week of February or the first week of March in Iraq. It essentially opens the way for all those who are willing to renounce violence against fellow Iraqis. Shiites had been strongly opposed to participation in the conference by Sunni Arab officials from the former Saddam regime or from pro-insurgency groups. That objection seemed to have been glossed over in the communique. The Cairo meeting was marred by differences between participants at times, and at one point Shiite and Kurdish delegates stormed out of a closed session when one of the speakers said they had sold out to the Americans. Ah, politics! Ain't it wonderful? |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #7 RC is correct. This is closer to the GOP Senate resolution than to an exit timetable. Its important to the Sunnis to get a promise that there wont be a PERMANENT US presence. The Iraqi govt is ready to offer that, but not a promise for a withdrawl until Iraqi forces are ready. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2005-11-22 15:10 |
| #6 Reaching out to the Sunni Arab community, Iraqi leaders called for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces and said Iraq's opposition had a "legitimate right" of resistance. A heart warming gratitude. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2005-11-22 15:07 |
| #5 1) What's the source for this? The link is circular. 2) This is the Cairo conference, under the aegis of the Arab League. As such, it is in no way authoritative or binding, as I understand things. 3) Talabani has been a little shaky on the whole occupation thing, which is essentially harmless because he's a head of state, and doesn't have any day-to-day power as I understand things. 4) Whoop de fucking do. A bunch of self-appointed clowns sponsored by the Arab tyrants sorta agree that it'd be nice if there weren't Americans and British and other icky types in Mesopotamia. What, you expected them to agitate in favor of a long-term committment? The Sunni haven't figured out that they're going to all kick heels if we leave them alone with a mostly-Shia-and-Kurdish army. The Kurds and the Shia, on the other hand, are starting to twig to this eventuality. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2005-11-22 13:07 |
| #4 Link for this? |
| Posted by: Pappy 2005-11-22 12:10 |
| #3 At this point, we should all remember that many of the Iraqi "leaders" are basically self-appointed, based on being connected insiders. In about a month, for the first time, Iraq will have a fully democratic government. And I suspect that it will have some major policy differences from the government in place right now. This is not to say that the current leaders are no good, that is not true, just that they cannot truly claim to represent "the Iraqi street". With a loose analogy, you could say that the current government are like a "blue state" government in the US; whereas the soon-to-be-elected government will be a "red state", government. This is especially true in the Sunni areas, where I will not be surprised if after the elections, Sunni organizations like "the influential association of Muslim scholars", win no power at all. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-11-22 09:39 |
| #2 Right, RC. It depends on whether you believe the original headline - "Iraqi Leaders Call for Pullout Timetable" - or mine (a variation of the original, with a touch of irony/sarcasm), or if you read the whole article and form your own opinion! |
| Posted by: Bobby 2005-11-22 08:44 |
| #1 Sunni leaders have been pressing the Shiite-majority government to agree to a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign troops. The statement recognized that goal, but did not lay down a specific time — reflecting instead the government's stance that Iraqi security forces must be built up first. Sounds more like they support Bush's plan, which is to withdraw US troops as Iraqi troops can take over the job. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-11-22 08:32 |