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BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 22 - Some leading Kurdish
political figures are trying to stall the formation
of a new Iraqi government in an effort to force out
Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the Shiite chosen two weeks ago
as prime minister, Iraqi and Western officials said.
Such an effort could further delay forming a
government at a sensitive time. The past week has
seen a sharp increase in insurgent violence,
including the downing Thursday of a commercial
helicopter that left 11 people dead. One of the
victims was apparently executed by the attackers.
American officials say the continuing failure to
form a new government - almost three months after
elections - could be contributing to the resurgent
violence.
The political momentum generated by the elections
has "worn off a bit," an American official here said
Friday, and that "has given the insurgents new hope.
The best thing to undermine the insurgency is to
maintain momentum on the political process."
A spokesman for the Kurdish alliance denied Friday
evening that there was any effort to unseat Dr.
Jaafari. But Kurdish leaders have never been
comfortable with religious figures like Dr. Jaafari,
the leader of one of Iraq's best-known Shiite
religious parties. Any successful campaign against
him could derail the pact between the Shiite and
Kurdish alliances that emerged two months ago,
opening the possibility of a new alignment that
would favor more secular figures like the departing
prime minister, Ayad Allawi.
The American official said Friday that he expected
that a new government would be formed within the
next week with Dr. Jaafari as prime minister.
But several Iraqi political figures said they
doubted that would happen. They cited strong
opposition to Dr. Jaafari in the Kurdish alliance,
which has agreed to form a coalition government with
the Shiite majority. Under Iraq's transitional law,
Mr. Jaafari will automatically lose his position if
he does not name a cabinet by May 7, a month after
his appointment.
"The Kurds are intent on delaying the government so
that Jaafari will fall," said Sami al-Askari, a
member of the Shiite alliance. A Western diplomat in
Baghdad confirmed the effort to "filibuster" the
negotiations.
Shiite officials say Kurds who oppose Dr. Jaafari
offer several reasons, including a growing
conviction that he does not favor the kind of
federal arrangement that would allow for strong
Kurdish autonomy.
If Dr. Jaafari is displaced, Iraq's new president,
Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, and his deputies would then
be forced to choose a new prime minister, the most
powerful job in the government.
That would be a significant setback for the national
assembly, which took more than two months just to
agree on a new leadership. The delay sowed deep
anger and disillusionment among ordinary Iraqis, who
risked their lives to vote.
A further delay would stir more public rancor, and
would further complicate efforts to meet the Aug. 15
deadline for drafting a new constitution.
Already, American officials say, the continuing
absence of a new government may be strengthening the
hands of insurgents, who launched more deadly
attacks on Friday, including a car bombing outside a
Shiite mosque in southern Baghdad that killed at
least 9 Iraqis and wounded 26.
With the interim government led by Dr. Allawi in
limbo, Iraq is suffering from something of a
political vacuum. Local governments in several areas
are showing signs of disorder, with some police
officials acting independently of the federal
government, the American official said.
Dr. Jaafari has always had some opponents among the
Shiites.
But it is mostly Kurds who have led the new effort
to oust him from the prime minister's seat, Shiite
officials say. Late last month, Massoud Barzani, the
leader of one of the two major Kurdish parties, made
clear that he was deeply opposed to having Dr.
Jaafari as prime minister, said a Shiite official.
"We cannot trust this man," Mr. Barzani said of Dr.
Jaafari, according to the Shiite official.
The Kurdish opposition stems in part from a
perception that Dr. Jaafari favors a strong
centralized government and might not allow the Kurds
the kind of regional autonomy they have enjoyed
since 1991, Shiite leaders say.
It is true that last year, as a member of the
American-appointed Iraqi governing council, Dr.
Jaafari was one of several Shiite leaders who
initially refused to sign Iraq's transitional
constitution, saying he opposed a provision that
would allow a two-thirds majority in any 3 of Iraq's
18 provinces to nullify the document in a referendum
later this year. Dr. Jaafari, charged that the
measure was undemocratic. Shiites represent 60
percent of Iraq's population.
He eventually signed, but said he might lead an
effort to reverse the provision. That alarmed some
groups here, including the Kurds.
Kurdish political figures, who tend to be secular,
generally view Shiite religious groups such as Dr.
Jaafari's Dawa Party with deep distrust, fearing
that they will bring aspects of Islamic law into
Iraq's legal code.
One important element has been the party of Dr.
Allawi, which won 40 of the 275 seats in Iraq's
national assembly in January.
The Shiite and Kurdish alliances agreed to try to
include Dr. Allawi's party in the new government.
But he has been insisting on four cabinet posts,
including key positions such as the Defense or Oil
ministries. He has also demanded a deputy prime
ministerial position.
Shiite officials say Dr. Jaafari cannot offer that
much to Dr. Allawi without facing a rebellion among
the Shiites. But the Kurdish leadership insists that
Dr. Allawi be accommodated, said Salam al-Maliki, a
member of the Shiite alliance.
Shiite leaders believe the Kurdish alliance is using
Dr. Allawi's party as a wedge to prevent the
formation of a government, said Mr. Askari, the
Shiite politician.
Senate Seeks Iraqi Invitation
By The New York Times
WASHINGTON, April 22 - Leaders of the Senate Armed
Services Committee have urged Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice to seek a formal invitation from
the new Iraqi government for American troops to
remain until domestic security forces are capable of
fully defending their country.
A letter on April 18 from Senator John W. Warner of
Virginia, the Republican committee chairman, and
Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, the ranking
Democrat, argued that the initiative could
"substantially reduce the daily threats to U.S.,
coalition and Iraqi security forces."
www.nytimes.com
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