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BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamist Shi'ite Ibrahim
Jaafari was named as Iraq's next prime minister on
Thursday, moving the country a step closer to its
first democratically elected government in more than
50 years.
Jaafari announced his own nomination shortly after
Iraq's new president, Kurdish former guerrilla
leader Jalal Talabani, was sworn into office in
parliament, along with two deputies.
"Today represents a big step forward for Iraq and a
big responsibility for me," Jaafari, who spent more
than two decades opposing Saddam Hussein from exile,
told reporters.
His appointment to the most powerful post under the
interim constitution had long been agreed in
principle but was held up by weeks of bargaining
over other jobs among the Shi'ite and Kurdish groups
that dominate the parliament elected on Jan. 30.
Jaafari is seen as a moderate Islamist, favouring a
strong role for Muslim teachings but seeking to
embrace all communities.
U.S. officials say they are confident Iraq will not
emulate Shi'ite Iran in establishing an Islamic
state hostile to Washington. Jaafari says he backs
the U.S. military presence in Iraq -- at least until
the country's own security forces are better able to
tackle the mostly Sunni Arab insurgency.
He said on Thursday that interim prime minister Iyad
Allawi, a secular Shi'ite appointed under U.S.
supervision 10 months ago, had resigned but would
carry on as a caretaker while Jaafari worked on the
finishing touches to his cabinet line-up.
"I hope within one or two weeks maximum I will name
the cabinet," a smiling Jaafari said after his
formal appointment by Talabani and the Shi'ite and
Sunni Arab vice presidents.
"I am going to do my best to finish within two
weeks."
U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher
acknowledged there was discontent over the delay in
agreeing key posts.
"But that's what happens in a democracy. And that's
a good thing...The playing out of Iraqi politics, in
this case, they were doing it their way. And that's
a good thing, too."
KURDISH PRESIDENT
Talabani, 71, took the president's oath of office a
day after his election by parliament. Political and
religious leaders looked on at a ceremony inside
Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, seat of government
and the vast U.S. embassy.
"I swear by God the great that I will work with
devotion to preserve the independence and
sovereignty of Iraq and to preserve its democratic
and federal system," Talabani said.
"I will work to preserve all freedoms and the
independence of the judiciary, and respect all laws,
as God is my witness."
Afterwards he was given a round of applause and
briefly raised his arms in triumph. Shi'ite Adel
Abdul Mahdi and Sunni Arab tribal elder Ghazi Yawar,
previously the interim president, were sworn in as
vice presidents immediately afterwards.
Talabani's appointment is a landmark for Iraq's
Kurdish minority, which suffered badly under Saddam.
He also becomes the first non-Arab president of an
Arab state.
The presidency is largely ceremonial and the prime
minister has more power. It gives the leaders of the
60-percent Shi'ite majority, also oppressed by
Saddam, a tight hold in Baghdad.
The naming of a Kurd as president and a Shi'ite as
prime minister seals the political transformation
that has taken place since the overthrow of Saddam's
Sunni Arab-dominated regime.
SUNNIS
Efforts are being made to ensure the Sunnis are not
frozen out. In a bid to involve them, Jaafari said
he had ordered an amnesty for Iraqis who had been
linked to Saddam's Baath party, saying they would
not face discrimination. The amnesty would not
extend to criminals and insurgents, he said.
While only 17 of the 275 members of parliament are
Sunni Arabs -- a reflection of the fact most Sunnis
either boycotted or were too afraid to vote in the
historic January ballot -- Sunnis are being given
several top posts in the government.
In his short speech after his swearing in, Talabani
addressed the Sunni Arab minority, about 20 percent
of Iraqis:
"It's about time that our Arab Sunni brothers took
part in building the new Iraq and we are very
hopeful that they will participate with us in doing
so," he said.
Most of Iraq's Kurds are also Sunni Muslims.
Talabani's election led to celebrations across
Kurdish regions of mountainous northeastern Iraq on
Wednesday.
The cabinet is expected to be named in the coming
days, but there is still intense squabbling over one
of the top posts, the oil ministry, which is crucial
to Iraq's economy and rebuilding. The ministry is
coveted by both Shi'ites and Kurds.
Once a government is in place, lawmakers will have
to knuckle down to a possibly even tougher task --
drawing up a constitution before a mid-August
deadline set under a plan drawn up under U.S.
occupation with the help of the United Nations.
Many Iraqis have complained that politicians have
let them down by taking so long to form a
government. Several Iraqi officials say the delay
has benefited Iraq's insurgents.
On Thursday, a suicide bomber blew up his vehicle
near a U.S. convoy in Tal Afar, in the far northwest
of Iraq. Hospital officials said 19 civilians were
wounded in the blast, four of them critically. Al
Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility.
In western Iraq, police said they discovered the
bodies of 11 Iraqis. The victims worked at an
American military base.
Reuters
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