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BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's national security
adviser warned on Friday the country would gradually
descend into civil war if federalism was not firmly
entrenched in its constitution.
"Without federalism it means that no community
interest has been addressed or fulfilled and
therefore different communities will try to find and
defend and fight for their rights," Mowaffaq al-Rubaie
told Reuters in an interview.
"I am worried about that. Yes. Absolutely. With a
civil war you can't say 'today we don't have a civil
war, tomorrow a civil war erupted'. Civil war creeps
into the country very gradually."
Iraqi politicians are trying to finish a draft
constitution to present to parliament before an
extended August 22 deadline.
Federalism is a major hurdle to a deal. Kurds want
to expand autonomy in their de facto state in the
north, some Shi'ites are pushing for their own
region in the south and Arab Sunnis insist only a
strong central government can keep Iraq together.
"Federalism is very good for the Sunnis as well.
Just imagine we have three provinces in the (Sunni
region) triangle coming together in one region and
that region enjoys all the rights of Kurdistan for
example," said Rubaie.
"It is a federal system we are after and I think
this is the only insurance policy for the unity of
Iraq."
Facing relentless violence that has raised concerns
of wider sectarian conflict, Iraqi leaders hope the
constitution will advance the political process and
defuse a Sunni insurgency.
Iraqi officials say Arab Sunnis inspired by al Qaeda
carry out spectacular suicide bombings against
Shi'ites in a bid to spark such a civil war.
Rubaie said Iraqi security forces have dramatically
improved and he predicted their performance would
allow 30,000 U.S.-led foreign troops to withdraw by
the middle of next year.
"More and more over the next few months Iraqis
(forces) will be at the lead and the multinational
forces will be behind them. They are proving
themselves," he said.
SEEKING BETTER INTELLIGENCE
But Rubaie said gathering intelligence was the only
way to defeat insurgents. He said Iraq's four
intelligence agencies were now sharing more
information on guerrillas.
He said one intelligence agency knew of plans for a
suicide bombing in the southern town of Musayyib
last month but did not pass on the information to
the Interior Ministry. The blast killed 98 people.
Barely able to protect themselves against attacks
that have killed hundreds of their comrades, Iraqi
security forces face the daunting challenge of
shielding Iraqis against an insurgency that shows no
signs of easing.
About 150 Islamic militants from Saudi Arabia,
Yemen, Egypt and Algeria cross the Syrian border
into Iraq every month to carry out attacks, Rubaie
said.
As Iraqi security forces take on more raids on their
own they risk alienating Iraqis who often accuse
them of heavy-handed practices.
Residents of the Amiriya district of Baghdad on
Thursday accused U.S. and Iraqis forces of killing
three innocent middle-aged brothers, one of them in
a wheelchair. The U.S. military said they killed
three terrorists.
"Even if you see somebody in a wheelchair it does
not mean that person is not strapped by a vest that
is going to explode and become a suicide bomber,"
said Rubaie.
"We certainly need to tighten the measures on
monitoring human rights standards. (But) to be quite
honest with you, this is one of the hindrances in
combating terrorism in this country. Because we are
building democracy...in our operations this is
hindering us and making us less efficient."
SISTANI 'INSURANCE' AGAINST WAR
Rubaie said Iraqi authorities had a detailed plan to
reduce violence by 50 percent by the end of this
year. But he gave no details on how they plan to end
the daily carnage.
Rubaie, who has a Sunni mother and Shi'ite father,
left Saddam Hussein's Iraq to practice neurology in
Britain.
Recalling his torture in Saddam's jails, Rubaie said
he hoped the political process and better security
forces would stabilise Iraq. But he looks to a top
Shi'ite cleric to keep peace.
Reclusive Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's calls for
moderation have contained Iraqi fury throughout more
than two years of bombings, assassinations and
kidnappings.
"We need to keep Grand Ayatollah Sistani alive. We
need to protect him, give him extra protection. He
is the insurance policy against civil war," said
Rubaie
Reuters
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