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Inside Iraq's West Wing
18.1.2006
By Michael Holmes
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BAGHDAD, Iraq
(CNN) -- Jalal Talabani draws on a cigar and ponders
the question.
The Iraqi president is sitting in his country's
version of the Oval Office. A far more humble
version, perhaps, but a potent seat of power
nonetheless.
We're discussing the insurgency, and the opinions of
many who say that political progress has, so far,
done little to deter those who wish the new Iraq,
and its occupiers, ill will.
He says a thriving political system will eventually
suck the life out of much of the insurgency. |
Iraqi
President : Jalal Talabani
Photo: Reuters
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"Sunni participation in the (political) process will
end all pretext to fight," he says, placing the
cigar in an ashtray. "People started to understand
what is going on is not a fight against Americans,
it's a fight against the Iraqi people."
It was an extraordinary day with the Iraqi
president. Rarely has such unfettered access been
granted to a Western television team. We spent much
of the day with Talabani, as he met with advisers,
greeted ambassadors, discussed the security
situation and held photo ops for the local media.
He says he is optimistic about his country's future,
but, with a smile, he adds a rider:
"But, of course, nothing in Iraq is easy."
Talabani says he wants to stay on as president after
final election results are announced. But there are
conditions. Under the rules of the presidency, he
would have some official power in the new
government, but his office would be largely titular.
Power, though, is not always defined by rules, and
Talabani's true influence will only be seen over
time.
"I cannot be a 'yes man', that is the deal," he
says. "I must share in ruling the country - I don't
want to be a puppet president.
"You know, what we call sharing power among the
partners of the government."
Whether the Shiite majority or the Sunnis will
tolerate a powerful presidency in the hands of
Talabani, a Kurd, is another matter.
Talabani is a personable, even jovial, man. Many of
his fellow Kurds call him "Uncle." He laughs easily,
tells jokes, plays cards and oozes a quiet
confidence.
He's had a lifetime at the sharp end of Iraq's often
violent politics -- now he faces another big
challenge.
As president, it will be his job to help bring
Shiites and Sunnis together and fashion a unity
government from groups rarely unified. Because he is
a Kurd, a group aligned with neither the Shiites nor
the Sunnis, he may be able to referee between them.
"The Kurdish people can play the role of mediation,
of reconciliation, the role of bringing them
together, of balancing," he says. "I think we will
do our best, and I think we have this capacity."
As the final election results are pulled together --
we should know the results this week -- another key
issue is how long it will take to form a new,
workable government.
Talabani's optimism again emerges.
"I think weeks. I hope. I hope it will be weeks."
We discussed the issue of Kurdish independence,
something always bubbling below the surface of
efforts for consensus politics in Iraq.
This time the realist emerges.
"There is a difference between realities and
desires," he says. "Wishful thinking is one thing,
and what is going on the ground is something else."
Oil revenues in the rich Kurdish region would, he
said, be shared between Kurds and the national
government -- but first the Kurds must get their
cut. How big a slice of the profit pie is something
for later discussion, he says.
There are two main Kurdish groups, and in the past
they've fought over regional issues. Not anymore,
the president says.
"This is the best time of unity among the Kurds," he
says. "Best time. You can say the highest level. Now
we are united about everything."
Another thorny issue is that of the constitution.
After Sunnis were assured before last month's
election that altering the constitution would be up
for discussion, they turned out in large numbers to
vote.
Last week, I spoke with perhaps the country's most
powerful politician, the senior Shiite figure, Abdul
Aziz al Hakim. He told me constitutional change was
not going to happen. Talabani seemed to agree.
"There will be a committee, the committee will
discuss, but I think the majority -- within the
Parliament, will refuse any kind of fundamental
change."
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