U.S., Britain Want Iraqis Able to Tell Troops to Leave
But new Iraqi PM tells nation forces are needed
(MSNBC)
The United States and Britain revised their Security Council resolution on transferring sovereignty to Iraq on Friday, giving the country’s new interim government authority to order the U.S.-led multinational force to leave at any time on the same day the new Iraqi prime minister told his nation that a withdrawal of the foreign troops would be disastrous.
The previous draft introduced Tuesday declared the council’s readiness to terminate the force’s mandate by January 2006 or at the request of the transitional government formed after elections held by Jan. 31, 2005.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that the incoming government wants the multinational force to stay to prevent civil war, and he told The Associated Press on Friday that he could not foresee its departure before power is transferred to the transitional government early next year.
The revised draft circulated to Security Council members includes what Secretary of State Colin Powell and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have stated publicly — that American and British troops will leave if asked.
It declares that the council will terminate the mandate for the multinational force after elections held by Dec. 31, 2005, or earlier “if requested by the sovereign government of Iraq.”
Allawi: Departure would be ‘major disaster’
Iraq’s new prime minister defended the presence of U.S. troops even after the June 30 handover of sovereignty, telling Iraqis in his first nationally televised address Friday that the forces’ withdrawal would be a “major disaster.”
Iyad Allawi, appointed last week to head the interim government, also said that Iraq’s new president, Ghazi al-Yawer, will attend the Group of Eight summit being hosted by President Bush in Sea Island, Ga., next week.
The address, aired on the U.S.-funded station Al-Iraqiyah, was the first national address by Allawi, a former exile leader who had close ties to the CIA and State Department but who is not widely known in Iraq.
Allawi was named to head the 33-member government — picked to represent a broad section of Iraqi ethnic and religious groups — in part because he was seen as strong on security.
In the speech, he called for an end to insurgent attacks and said the 138,000 U.S. troops and thousands of forces from other nations in Iraq are still needed. Plans to keep international troops in Iraq have caused resentment among some Iraqis after more than a year of U.S. occupation.
“The targeting of the multinational forces under the leadership of the United States to force them to leave Iraq would inflict a major disaster on Iraq, especially before the completion of the building of security and military institutions,” Allawi said.
“And I would like to mention here that the coalition forces too have offered the blood of their sons as a result of terror attacks designed to force them to leave Iraq,” he said in the address, which was also carried on the Arab satellite stations Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiyah.
Allawi also said the new government would work toward national unity after the divisions created by the fall of Saddam Hussein and the U.S. occupation.
“Former Baathists can live with dignity in society so long as they have not committed any crimes,” he added.
The government will soon issue regulations on the entry of foreigners into the country. Iraqis have complained that U.S. forces were not diligent enough in curbing the entry of foreign terrorists and criminals following the collapse of Saddam’s regime in April 2003.
Endorsement from Influential Cleric
On Thursday, Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric gave his tacit endorsement to the new interim government, and urged it to lobby the U.N. Security Council for full sovereignty to erase "all traces" of the American-run occupation.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani did say that the new government, appointed Tuesday by a U.N. envoy, lacks the "legitimacy of elections" and does not represent "in an acceptable manner all segments of Iraqi society and political forces."
"Nevertheless, it is hoped that this government will prove its efficiency and integrity and show resolve to carry out the enormous tasks that rest on its shoulders," al-Sistani said in a statement released by his office here.
Al-Sistani's opposition to the government would have severely undermined its credibility because of the cleric's influence among Iraq's Shiite majority, believed to comprise about 60 percent of the country's 25 million people.
Al-Sistani's objections to U.S. policy in Iraq effectively derailed at least two blueprints put forward by Washington to chart the political future of Iraq.
He had demanded elections to choose the government to take power from the U.S.-run occupation at the end of this month but dropped his insistence after U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi decided that an early ballot was not possible because of poor security.
Iraqis will choose a transitional government by the end of January and elect a new administration after ratification of the new constitution next year.
'Complete Sovereignty'
With the new government set to take over in weeks, al-Sistani said the main tasks were to secure Iraq's sovereignty, relieve the suffering of its people, restore security and prepare for the January elections.
"The new government should get a clear resolution from the U.N. Security Council restoring sovereignty to Iraqis — a full and complete sovereignty in all its political, economic, military and security forms and endeavor to erase all traces of the occupation," al-Sistani's statement said.
But new Iraqi PM tells nation forces are needed
(MSNBC)
The United States and Britain revised their Security Council resolution on transferring sovereignty to Iraq on Friday, giving the country’s new interim government authority to order the U.S.-led multinational force to leave at any time on the same day the new Iraqi prime minister told his nation that a withdrawal of the foreign troops would be disastrous.
The previous draft introduced Tuesday declared the council’s readiness to terminate the force’s mandate by January 2006 or at the request of the transitional government formed after elections held by Jan. 31, 2005.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that the incoming government wants the multinational force to stay to prevent civil war, and he told The Associated Press on Friday that he could not foresee its departure before power is transferred to the transitional government early next year.
The revised draft circulated to Security Council members includes what Secretary of State Colin Powell and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have stated publicly — that American and British troops will leave if asked.
It declares that the council will terminate the mandate for the multinational force after elections held by Dec. 31, 2005, or earlier “if requested by the sovereign government of Iraq.”
Allawi: Departure would be ‘major disaster’
Iraq’s new prime minister defended the presence of U.S. troops even after the June 30 handover of sovereignty, telling Iraqis in his first nationally televised address Friday that the forces’ withdrawal would be a “major disaster.”
Iyad Allawi, appointed last week to head the interim government, also said that Iraq’s new president, Ghazi al-Yawer, will attend the Group of Eight summit being hosted by President Bush in Sea Island, Ga., next week.
The address, aired on the U.S.-funded station Al-Iraqiyah, was the first national address by Allawi, a former exile leader who had close ties to the CIA and State Department but who is not widely known in Iraq.
Allawi was named to head the 33-member government — picked to represent a broad section of Iraqi ethnic and religious groups — in part because he was seen as strong on security.
In the speech, he called for an end to insurgent attacks and said the 138,000 U.S. troops and thousands of forces from other nations in Iraq are still needed. Plans to keep international troops in Iraq have caused resentment among some Iraqis after more than a year of U.S. occupation.
“The targeting of the multinational forces under the leadership of the United States to force them to leave Iraq would inflict a major disaster on Iraq, especially before the completion of the building of security and military institutions,” Allawi said.
“And I would like to mention here that the coalition forces too have offered the blood of their sons as a result of terror attacks designed to force them to leave Iraq,” he said in the address, which was also carried on the Arab satellite stations Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiyah.
Allawi also said the new government would work toward national unity after the divisions created by the fall of Saddam Hussein and the U.S. occupation.
“Former Baathists can live with dignity in society so long as they have not committed any crimes,” he added.
The government will soon issue regulations on the entry of foreigners into the country. Iraqis have complained that U.S. forces were not diligent enough in curbing the entry of foreign terrorists and criminals following the collapse of Saddam’s regime in April 2003.
Endorsement from Influential Cleric
On Thursday, Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric gave his tacit endorsement to the new interim government, and urged it to lobby the U.N. Security Council for full sovereignty to erase "all traces" of the American-run occupation.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani did say that the new government, appointed Tuesday by a U.N. envoy, lacks the "legitimacy of elections" and does not represent "in an acceptable manner all segments of Iraqi society and political forces."
"Nevertheless, it is hoped that this government will prove its efficiency and integrity and show resolve to carry out the enormous tasks that rest on its shoulders," al-Sistani said in a statement released by his office here.
Al-Sistani's opposition to the government would have severely undermined its credibility because of the cleric's influence among Iraq's Shiite majority, believed to comprise about 60 percent of the country's 25 million people.
Al-Sistani's objections to U.S. policy in Iraq effectively derailed at least two blueprints put forward by Washington to chart the political future of Iraq.
He had demanded elections to choose the government to take power from the U.S.-run occupation at the end of this month but dropped his insistence after U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi decided that an early ballot was not possible because of poor security.
Iraqis will choose a transitional government by the end of January and elect a new administration after ratification of the new constitution next year.
'Complete Sovereignty'
With the new government set to take over in weeks, al-Sistani said the main tasks were to secure Iraq's sovereignty, relieve the suffering of its people, restore security and prepare for the January elections.
"The new government should get a clear resolution from the U.N. Security Council restoring sovereignty to Iraqis — a full and complete sovereignty in all its political, economic, military and security forms and endeavor to erase all traces of the occupation," al-Sistani's statement said.
