"Rice assails Senate's Iraq plan," but what do the Iraqis want?

Rice assails Senate's Iraq plan

Tue Oct 2, 1:38 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice rejected a bipartisan Senate-backed plan for a decentralized, federal Iraq as "a real mistake."

"You know, decentralization and federalism is in their (the Iraqis') constitution. But you can't partition; this isn't kind of ethnic enclaves," Rice said in an interview Monday with the New York Post.

"That would be a real mistake. And by the way, the first and most important reason that you can't do it is that Iraqis don't want to do that and reacted extremely badly to the idea of partitioning the country into ethnically governed enclaves."

Critics of the plan say that if put into practice, it would likely see Iraq's factions separate on ethnic Kurd, Sunni and Shiite lines

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Al-Hakim Calls for 'Security Agreement'

By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer

Saturday, May 12, 2007

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Al-Hakim's party — a senior partner in the coalition government of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that has been in office since May last year — was founded in Iran in 1982 with the assistance of Tehran's ruling clergy to fight Saddam Hussein's regime, toppled by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

In theory, the party's Badr Brigade militia has been disbanded and turned into a political organization, but its former militiamen are known to have infiltrated the security forces.

Al-Hakim said his party remained committed to the creation of a semiautonomous region in Iraq's mainly Shiite south, but stressed that such a move hinged on popular support.

A federal Iraq is a key plank of the party's ideology, but politicians from the once-dominant Sunni Arab minority insist that federalism would eventually lead to the breakup of the country.

Federalism was enshrined in a new constitution adopted in 2005.

"We are working for the creation of a region in the center and south ... under the mechanisms provided by in the constitution and with the approval of the people," he said.

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In Iraqi south, Shiites press for autonomy

Momentum is building for a federation of southern provinces in a further challenge to Iraq's national unity.

By Sam Dagher | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

BAGHDAD
When Najaf unplugged its power station from the national grid last week, it was a sign of provincial dissent over the unequal distribution of electricity. But it also indicates a new assertiveness in the south, as Iraq's regional leaders seek to wrest control from a central government in Baghdad paralyzed by political infighting.

Multiple visions for unifying the county's southern provinces are emerging. The Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), one of the most powerful Shiite parties, is leading the charge to form an autonomous "South of Baghdad Region."

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"A federation of regions is one of the more practical solutions to Iraq's problems, but there is real fear that this will only be a prelude to partition," says Thamer al-Ameri, former adviser to the Iraqi parliament and now independent politician.

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In recent weeks, Ammar al-Hakim, the son of SIIC leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, has been leading a passionate grassroots campaign to rally support for the project.

"A fundamental cornerstone of the new Iraq is the creation of regions all over Iraq, especially the South of Baghdad Region," said the younger Mr. Hakim during a rally in Najaf on July 19 commemorating the killing of his uncle Muhammad Baqer al-Hakim in August 2003 in the same city.

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Under the Iraqi Constitution, regions have been given significant power, including adopting their own constitution; exercising executive, legislative, and judicial authority, organizing and managing internal security forces; and opening offices as part of Iraqi missions abroad. Also, regional laws take precedence over national ones in case of conflict.

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One mystery about all the denunciations of the Senate vote is that the resolution the senators passed is just the plan of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, a central member of the (Shiite) United Iraqi Alliance, which rules Iraq. Al-Hakim pushed through parliament (by a simple majority with barely a quorum) his plan for an 8-province Shiite confederacy last October. The only concession he had to give was to wait 18 months, (i.e. until next March) to proceed. Of course, the al-Hakim plan differs from that of Biden in not forcing the Sunni Arabs to form a regional government of their own. (The Sunni Arabs don't like the idea of provincial confederacies, preferring strong central government rule a la France.)

The resemblance between the al-Hakim plan and that of Joe Biden is an embarrassment to ISCI, since the US is not popular in Iraq. Ammar al-Hakim (the son and currently plenipotentiary of Abdul Aziz, who is in Iran for cancer treatment) denied the similarity and expressed amazement that the US Senate should try to legislate on such a matter. His denials do not strike me as convincing-- and they lack any specifics.

National Pact launched by Islamic Party

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Saturday , 29 /09 /2007 Time 1:34:40


Baghdad, Sept 26, (VOI)- The Sunni Islamic Party launched on Wednesday a political initiative, dubbed "the National Pact," that aims, according to the party, to stop deterioration in the country.

"The corner-stone in the solution is accordance among the Iraqis themselves, by bringing their views closer regarding shaping the future Iraq and in describing the co-existance of all sects and communities within the country," Tareq al-Hashemi, Iraqi vice-president and the Islamic Party chief, told a news conference.
Al-Hashemi said "the time has come for a frank dialogue on the essential issues."
The 25-principle-initiative has addressed basic issues that might lead to end the deterioration in Iraq according to the Islamic Party Secretary-General al-Hashemi.
The National Pact called for "equality of all Iraqis before the law, condemnation of killing based on identity, shunning extremism, and rejecting foreign interference in Iraqi affairs."
The initiative, which also called to achieve national reconciliation, recognized resistance as "a right of all occupied nations," indicating that "terror is not considered resistance."
The Islamic Party is one of three components that constituted the Sunni Accordance Front, which quit the Iraqi government two months ago after it accused the government of "closing the door to any true reforms."