Talabani wants US troops to stay for 'three more years'
Paris, 03 November 2006 (Reuters)
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani {a Kurd} said on Thursday that US troops should remain in Iraq for up to three more years to help bring peace to the country, envisaging a slower withdrawal programme than that suggested by Washington.
At the start of a week-long visit to France, Talabani rejected suggestions Iraq had descended into civil war and accused the media of focusing exclusively on negative stories.
However, he said "international terrorists" were still concentrating all their efforts in Iraq which meant the country needed outside help to defeat them.
"We need time. Not 20 years, but time. I personally can say that two to three years will be enough to build up our forces and say to our American friends 'Bye bye with thanks'," Talabani told a conference organised by the IFRI think-tank.
Talabani gave an upbeat assessment of the situation in Iraq, saying life was relatively normal beyond Baghdad.
"There is no civil war. The media is focusing only on the negative side of Iraq. ... We need to give the real picture. It's not just car bombs.
"Visit Iraq from the north to the south. Never mind Baghdad," he told reporters.
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Why does he want the USA to stay?
Because he wants Kurdistan to keep all the oil profits:
http://www.puk.org/web/htm/news/nws/news061006.html Kurdish north
The Associated Press
Published: October 6, 2006
IRBIL, Iraq Convinced oil revenue is the long-term key to economic independence for a unified Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appealed for cooperation from the autonomous and oil rich Kurdish north.
Rice visited the region's powerful president, Massoud Barzani, on Friday less than two weeks after the regional government threatened to break away from Iraq in a dispute over oil.
After a session with their staffs, followed by a lengthy one-on-one meeting at the Kurdish government offices in Irbil, Rice and Barzani stood in front of U.S. and Kurdish flags and spoke to reporters.
Barzani, speaking in Kurdish through an interpreter, said Kurdistan, "like any other nation, has the right to self-determination." However, he said he is committed to a "federal democratic and pluralistic Iraq."
For her part, Rice thanked Barzani for the Kurds' long cooperation with the United States, adding, "and I appreciate also your important participation in the process of national reconciliation. Thank you."
When he was asked about the future distribution of oil wealth, Barzani did not repeat recent assertions that Kurdistan alone should control new contracts and business arrangements for oil pumped in the region. But at the same time, he gave no endorsement of proposed national legislation on dividing up income from oil.
Rice's two-day trip to Iraq is meant to show U.S. support for the country's fragile central government, under assault by a spiral of sectarian violence and growing calls for autonomy among Iraq's regions.
And while she said the administration is always reviewing its policies in Iraq, she said it would not halt its backing for the country's struggling government.
"The option that the president has been very clear that he is not reviewing is beginning to somehow remove American support for this regime, for this new government in Iraq, before it's able to do the job on its own," she told reporters as they flew to London for a meeting on Iran's nuclear program.
Rice's departure from Irbil was delayed Friday, leaving unclear how much progress would be made at the London session.
Rice had to wait about two hours for a replacement plane because of mechanical problems discovered in the C-17 military transport that was supposed to ferry her to Turkey, where another jet was waiting to fly her to London.
The delay meant Rice would arrive late for a meeting with foreign ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China. The group still planned to meet but would be unable to finish its business and refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council on Friday as had been expected, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, who was traveling with the secretary.
In Iraq, fears of Kurdish secession have risen in recent weeks, especially when Barzani briefly banned the display of the Iraqi flag in government buildings.
The oil dispute reflects the larger fight over federal control in Iraq.
Although the parliament briefly averted a crisis over the Kurdish threat last month, leaders have been unable to pass a federal law on the distribution of oil wealth
The U.S. and other international backers want quick action on a law that would streamline the complicated oil sector, attract foreign investment and provide for equitable distribution of oil profits across Iraq.
Oil is still pumping at prewar levels more than three years after the invasion that toppled the former president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein.
Oil resources are now governed by vague terms in the national constitution written last year.
Energy analysts estimate oil revenues make up more than 95 percent of Iraq's domestic budget.
Since the Gulf War of 1991 the Kurdish north had been out of Saddam's control and the Kurds established their autonomous region under U.S. and British protection. After the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, Kurdistan was the only region that did not witness major changes.
Iraq's new constitution recognizes Kurdish self-rule and provides a legal mechanism for other areas to govern themselves but within the Iraqi state.
Sunni Arabs, who had enjoyed control over Iraq under Saddam, now fear the Kurdish push for secession under the nation's new federal system. Should the Shiite majority in the oil-rich south follow suit, the Sunnis would find themselves with little more than date groves and sand.
IRBIL, Iraq Convinced oil revenue is the long-term key to economic independence for a unified Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appealed for cooperation from the autonomous and oil rich Kurdish north.
Rice visited the region's powerful president, Massoud Barzani, on Friday less than two weeks after the regional government threatened to break away from Iraq in a dispute over oil.
After a session with their staffs, followed by a lengthy one-on-one meeting at the Kurdish government offices in Irbil, Rice and Barzani stood in front of U.S. and Kurdish flags and spoke to reporters.
Barzani, speaking in Kurdish through an interpreter, said Kurdistan, "like any other nation, has the right to self-determination." However, he said he is committed to a "federal democratic and pluralistic Iraq."
For her part, Rice thanked Barzani for the Kurds' long cooperation with the United States, adding, "and I appreciate also your important participation in the process of national reconciliation. Thank you."
When he was asked about the future distribution of oil wealth, Barzani did not repeat recent assertions that Kurdistan alone should control new contracts and business arrangements for oil pumped in the region. But at the same time,
he gave no endorsement of proposed national legislation on dividing up income from oil. Rice's two-day trip to Iraq is meant to show U.S. support for the country's fragile central government, under assault by a spiral of sectarian violence and growing calls for autonomy among Iraq's regions.
And while she said the administration is always reviewing its policies in Iraq, she said it would not halt its backing for the country's struggling government.
"The option that the president has been very clear that he is not reviewing is beginning to somehow remove American support for this regime, for this new government in Iraq, before it's able to do the job on its own," she told reporters as they flew to London for a meeting on Iran's nuclear program.
Rice's departure from Irbil was delayed Friday, leaving unclear how much progress would be made at the London session.
Rice had to wait about two hours for a replacement plane because of mechanical problems discovered in the C-17 military transport that was supposed to ferry her to Turkey, where another jet was waiting to fly her to London.
The delay meant Rice would arrive late for a meeting with foreign ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China. The group still planned to meet but would be unable to finish its business and refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council on Friday as had been expected, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, who was traveling with the secretary.
In Iraq, fears of Kurdish secession have risen in recent weeks, especially when Barzani briefly banned the display of the Iraqi flag in government buildings.
The oil dispute reflects the larger fight over federal control in Iraq.
Although the parliament briefly averted a crisis over the Kurdish threat last month, leaders have been unable to pass a federal law on the distribution of oil wealth
The U.S. and other international backers want quick action on a law that would streamline the complicated oil sector, attract foreign investment and provide for equitable distribution of oil profits across Iraq.
Oil is still pumping at prewar levels more than three years after the invasion that toppled the former president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein.
Oil resources are now governed by vague terms in the national constitution written last year.
Energy analysts estimate oil revenues make up more than 95 percent of Iraq's domestic budget.
Since the Gulf War of 1991 the Kurdish north had been out of Saddam's control and the Kurds established their autonomous region under U.S. and British protection. After the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, Kurdistan was the only region that did not witness major changes.
Iraq's new constitution recognizes Kurdish self-rule and provides a legal mechanism for other areas to govern themselves but within the Iraqi state.
Sunni Arabs, who had enjoyed control over Iraq under Saddam, now fear the Kurdish push for secession under the nation's new federal system. Should the Shiite majority in the oil-rich south follow suit, the Sunnis would find themselves with little more than date groves and sand.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We had a discussion about this last month -- it is clear that Kurdistan is enjoying huge oil profits and that it is not sharing the revenues with Iraq nor is it paying for the war. Instead, it is we American taxpayers who are paying for it. As a consequence, Kurdistan is enjoying a higher standard of living while we are bearing the cost. That sure as hell isn't doing us any f*cking good.
If Kurdistan wants the USA to stay in Iraq in order to protect their lifestyle and to keep everybody else away from their oil, let them pay for it!
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