IRAQ: Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari says the country's challenges after the U.S. pullout last week are political, not security based ones

Record ID: 280107

  • Title: IRAQ: Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari says the country's challenges after the U.S. pullout last week are political, not security based ones
  • Date: 22nd December 2011
  • Summary: BAGHDAD, IRAQ (DECEMBER 21, 2011) ) (REUTERS) IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER, HOSHYAR ZEBARI, TALKING TO REPORTER DURING INTERVIEW ZEBARI TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER, HOSHYAR ZEBARI, SAYING: "The biggest challenge Iraq faces after the U.S. pullout is a political one, not one of security. This crisis came at the wrong time for the Iraqi situation. It has
  • Embargoed: 6th January 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq, Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Crime,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA7FAVZLEBY6FMZ3TFL2T518FPQ
  • Story Text: Iraq's foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari said on Wednesday (December 21) that Iraq will face big politicall and security challenges over the next weeks, days after the completion of the U.S. pullout from Iraq.
    "The biggest challenge Iraq faces after the U.S. pullout is a political one, not one of security. This crisis came at the wrong time for the Iraqi situation. It has come after the pullout of the last American, after a successful visit made by Iraqi prime minister and the Iraqi delegation to Washington to hold agreements for the next phase," Zebari told Reuters.
    The last convoy of U.S. soldiers pulled out of Iraq on Sunday (December 17), ending nearly nine years of war that cost almost 4,500 American and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives and left a country still grappling with political uncertainty.
    The war launched in March 2003 with missiles striking Baghdad to oust dictator Saddam Hussein closes with a fragile democracy still facing insurgents, sectarian tensions and the challenge of defining its place in the Arab region.
    Days after U.S. completed their withdrawal, Iraqi authorities issued an arrest warrant against Sunni vice president Tareq al-Hashime for suspected ties to assassinations and bombings.
    The move risks unraveling Iraq's fragile power-sharing deal among Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish blocs who have struggled to overcome tensions just a few years after sectarian slaughter drove the country to the edge of a civil war.
    Zebari said that the political crisis should be solved by talks to avoid country a sectarian struggles.
    "Such a crisis can not be solved in the media but it must be solved by talks among the political leaders. Yes the constitution is the ruler, but there are political powers that took part in this government and contributed in building the new regime," he said.
    Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government still struggles with a delicate power-sharing arrangement between Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni parties, leaving Iraq vulnerable to meddling by Sunni Arab nations and Shi'ite Iran.
    The intensity of violence and suicide bombings has subsided. But a stubborn Sunni Islamist insurgency and rival Shi'ite militias remain a threat, carrying out almost daily attacks, often on Iraqi government and security officials.
    Zebari confirmed that the protocol signed by Syrian government aimed at stopping killing in Syria, refering that Iraq encourage Syria to co-operate with Arab initiative.
    "The main purpose behind sending the fact finding committee to Syria, in accordance to the protocol that organized the legal presence, is to halt the killing and to distribute these monitors in hot spots. The protocol was signed by the Syrian government, and Iraq has a key role to encourage Syria to apply the Arab plan," he said.
    Syria agreed to the Arab peace plan in early November, but the violence continued, prompting Arab states to announce financial sanctions and travel bans on Syrian officials.
    The United States and European Union have imposed sanctions on Syria, which combined with the unrest itself have sent the economy into a sharp decline.
    Zebari said that Baghdad waits an expected visit of the Syrian opposition powers over next days to discuss ways to find a peace soloution to the Syrian crisis.
    "According to the communication that we have had (with opposition powers), we invited them and we expect that they will arrive Baghdad for talks and to clarify their stance and the situation," he said.
    Arab rulers are keen to prevent a descent into civil war in Syria that could affect a region already riven by rivalry between non-Arab Shi'ite Muslim power Iran and Sunni Muslim Arab heavyweights such as Saudi Arabia.
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