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James Baker Committee May Recommend a
Federal Iraq
9.10.2006 |
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A commission chaired by
former U.S. secretary of state James A. Baker, will
issue a report next month, in which it will probably
advise the American administration to divide Iraq
into three autonomous regions.
The commission was set up by the U.S. Congress, with
the approval of President George W. Bush.
Sources close to the commission say that the
federalization of Iraq is the only way out of the
ongoing instability in the country, the London-based
A-Sharq Al-Awsat reported.
If the federalization will be implemented, Iraq will
be divided into Kurd (Kurdistan Region), Sunni and
Shi'a autonomous regions. The central government
will be involved with border security, foreign
affairs and the distribution of oil revenues.
The idea of establishing a federation in Iraq has
been the subject of intense discussion over the past
few months in the Iraqi parliament. |
Former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker
Photo: Reuters |
Many members of parliament fear that this solution
will only intensify the civil war in the country.
The central government's control over oil affairs
provoked a major dispute two weeks ago. The
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has threatened
to separate itself from the Iraqi state if the
federal government insists on interfering in
decisions regarding oil development in Kurdistan.
The Kurdish region in northern Iraq was given de
facto autonomy after the fall of Saddam Hussein's
regime in 2003. The Kurds then chose to be in a
"voluntary union" with Iraq.
In an interview with the Iraqi daily A-'Sabah
published on September 24, Iraq's Oil Minister
Hussein Shahristani said his ministry was not
committed to investment contracts signed by the KRG.
KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani stated on
September 27 that these comments suggested
Shahristani was not committed to Iraq's
constitution.
"Oil and gas are not among the exclusive powers of
the federal government," Barzani said.
Baker: Iraq must regain control - Bloomberg
Former Secretary of State James Baker said the Iraqi
government has limited time to gain control of the
country and suggested a panel evaluating U.S. policy
for President George W. Bush would recommend a
change in course.
Baker, co-chairman of the bipartisan Iraq Study
Group set up to advise the administration on the
war, said he agreed with Republican Sen. John Warner
of Virginia that Iraqi leaders have two to three
months to demonstrate concrete evidence of progress.
The longtime Republican adviser said the 10-member
commission is reviewing alternatives for the United
States in Iraq, including creating a power-sharing
arrangement among Sunni, Shiite and Kurd factions. A
complete U.S. withdrawal over the next year is
unlikely because such an action would unleash ``the
biggest civil war you've ever seen,'' Baker said.
``There are alternatives between the stated
alternatives, the ones that are out there in the
political debate, of `stay the course' and `cut and
run,' '' Baker said today on ABC's ``This Week''
program.
Baker's comments and the remarks made last week by
Warner, chairman of the Senate Armed Services
Committee, are adding to the pressure on the
president to change his strategy in Iraq.
Democrats are attempting to make Bush's Iraq policy
a central theme in the Nov. 7 congressional
elections, and polls show a majority of the U.S.
public opposes the war. Baker said the commission
won't make a recommendation until after the
election.
Sectarian strife has been increasing in Iraq.
Assaults on U.S. and Iraqi forces have risen since
August when 3,500 U.S. soldiers were transferred to
Baghdad to combat lawlessness in the Iraqi capital.
The U.S. military suffered 75 fatalities last month,
its highest number since 79 were killed in April,
according to the U.S. Defense Department Web site.
One of Bush's supporters in Congress, Republican Sen.
John Cornyn of Texas, echoed the president's stance
that Iraq is part of a broader conflict against
Islamic extremists.
``This is enormously serious because it's not just
about Iraq,'' Cornyn, a member of the Armed Services
Committee, said on CNN's ``Late Edition.''
Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, the senior Democrat
on the Foreign Relations Committee, speaking on the
same program, said a consensus is emerging that
``there's a need for radical change in policy and a
political settlement here.''
Baker said the commission may release its
recommendations by December.
One of the suggestions under consideration is a
proposal, advanced by Biden, that Iraq be divided
among the
three major factions into semi-autonomous regions.
Baker said there are arguments in favor of that
approach as well as drawbacks.
``There's no way to draw lines between Sunnis,
Shiites and Kurds in the major cities of Baghdad,
Basra, Mosul, Kirkuk,'' Baker said. ``Furthermore,
there are no boundaries between the Sunni areas and
the Shiite areas in Iraq.''
The current Iraqi government is capable of
stabilizing the country ``if it can acquire the
political will necessary,'' Baker said. That will
isn't present yet, he added.
Iraqi Foreign Minster Hoshyar Zebari said the
situation in Iraq isn't ``as desperate as people
think.'' The Iraqi government needs to improve
security and ``deliver on what it has pledged the
people,'' Zebari said today on CNN.
Efforts have ``been slow, but we have been moving
steadily forward,'' Zebari said. ``We are not
stalled or stopped.''
Baker, a lawyer who served in the administration of
Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush,
warned before the March 2003 invasion that it would
most likely require more resources and troops than
were being dedicated to the task.
``I'm not sure that they will listen to our advice
now, except that we are a bipartisan group that was
formed at the urging of Congress,'' Baker said.
``The administration approved of the formation of
the group and has been assisting us in going to
Iraq.''
Baker was a key player in organizing international
support for the coalition that drove Saddam
Hussein's military out of Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf
War. After leaving office in 1993, Baker said that,
on the lecture circuit, he was repeatedly asked why
the United States ``didn't take care of Saddam
Hussein'' at that time.
``Nobody asks that question anymore,'' he said.
themedialine org | Bloomberg
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