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Dr. Barham: U.S. troop withdrawal "would
be utterly disastrous"
14.11.2006
By Mark Finkelstein
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Iraqi Deputy PM repeated
that an abrupt U.S. troop withdrawal "would be
utterly disastrous," but he also said he doesn't
think that will happen.
An abrupt withdrawal of American troops from Iraq
would be a "disaster for Iraqis and for the region,"
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for National Security
Dr. Barham Salih told Cybercast News Service in a
one-on-one interview in his offices in Baghdad on
Sunday.
"Iraqis want to assume the lead in the defense of
the security of the country," Salih said. "This is
something that should be celebrated. But I think we
will need American military support for some time to
come." |
Dr. Barham Salih, Iraqi Deputy PM |
From his perspective as an Iraqi government
official, Salih admitted that the current strategy
in Iraq is "not working fast enough" for the Iraqis
or for the United States. "Unless the natives of the
land take charge, be responsible and defend the
interests of the nation, the United States cannot
help us," he said. He sees the U.S. role as helping
Iraqis help themselves.
Salih repeated that an abrupt U.S. troop withdrawal
"would be utterly disastrous," but he also said he
doesn't think that will happen.
"The pain and frustration that many Americans feel
about Iraq is understandable...The reality of the
situation is that Iraq is going through a very, very
tough transition. If anything, this has been tougher
than we expected," he said.
"The stakes are very high here. I think it's fair to
say that the overwhelming majority of Iraqis reject
the violence...they want to utilize the resources of
their country and live in a democracy. We have
tasted freedom, we have witnessed freedom, and
despite the violence, despite the difficulties . . .
we would not be willing to go back under the old
dictatorship."
On the other hand, Salih said, the Iraqis must be
realistic about the fact that things are getting
worse in certain areas, including security and
politics. He suggested that "extremists" are taking
advantage of the situation to undermine the
influence of moderates.
"The extremists will come [into the political fold]
in a genuine way only if they know that there will
be consequences to their extremism," Salih said.
"The crisis has reached a critical level, in my
opinion, and we cannot do business as usual," he
said, referring to the daily toll of internal Iraqi
bloodshed. "How can one accept this?" he asked.
"There has to be a change."
Salih said extremist forces are trying to push Iraq
into all-out civil war, and he predicted that in the
next few weeks, the Iraqi government will have to
make some very serious choices: "All political
parties and all those who are in government [must
adopt] a genuine, united position against terrorism,
against militias." He said it's time for the Iraqi
government to take action against lawlessness rather
than just "talk about it."
As for the Democrats' takeover of Congress in the
U.S. midterm election, Salih indicated it won't make
much difference as far as Iraq is concerned.
"During my last trip to Washington I met with the
senior leadership of the Democratic Party in the
Senate and the House, and we had some very serious
discussions, and I listened very intently to what
they had to say." Salih said the Democrats
"recognize the vitality of Iraq, the importance of
Iraq, and that Iraq cannot be lost to terrorists.
And I'm sure at the end of the day, American
democracy, as it has done so many times as well,
will be able to come up with the right formula.
"The political season is over. The political leaders
of both parties and, of course, the president of the
United States all share the same objective in making
a success in Iraq and ensuring that Iraq is peaceful
and secure."
Following the terror attacks of Sept. 11, Salih said
it's no longer possible to disengage from the rest
of the world. "We are dealing with global
terrorism," he said. "The streets of Baghdad impact
security in the United States and Europe."
Salih rejected the notion, advanced by many
Democrats, that the Iraq war has radicalized
America's enemies: "September 11th happened before
the Iraq war," he noted. "The radicalization of some
of these Muslim societies happened long, long before
the Iraq war. And there is an extremist, bigoted
agenda, in the name of Islam, that wants to pit the
Middle East against the West and the United States."
Salih said he can understand U.S. frustration about
the lack of progress in Iraq and the growing number
of casualties there, but he said he's hopeful that
"at the end of the day, most American politicians
and leaders recognize the imperative of success in
Iraq."
He called it unfortunate that the media tends to
focus only on negative news in Iraq.
"Today I was with the governor of Anbar [province],"
Salih said. He said 160 construction projects are in
the works, despite the intense fighting that has
taken place in Fallujah. "People forget about the
progress -- the good news stories," he said. "Many
of the provinces in the south are really moving
along. Some of these good stories are not being
told."
Salih rejected the partitioning of Iraq into three
ethnic regions, an idea that has been advanced by
some Democrats, including Sen. Joseph Biden of
Delaware, who said he plans to run for president in
2008.
"To be fair to Sen. Biden, he has spoken of about
decentralization and federalism -- a loose
federation," said Salih, a former prime minister of
the Kurdistan region.
He noted that Iraqi leaders have agreed that Iraq
could become a federal system. "Perhaps Kurdistan,
because of its non-Arab character, could have a
greater degree of autonomy," he said. "These are
matters that we discuss among ourselves as Iraqis
and see what is the best for our country."
Salih called central control of Iraq a "bad idea"
that has failed. "It's a recipe for disaster," he
said "It's a recipe for the resurrection of tyranny
and dictatorship. We cannot afford to allow that
ever to happen again."
Salih said that he and every other Kurd "dreams of
independence."
"Even I, Barham Salih, now deputy prime minister of
Iraq, [I always] question why the Kurds were given
such a lousy deal by history and geography. I would
like to have my independent Kurdistan. I would like
Kurdistan to be a member of the United Nations. "Why
not?" he asked, noting that the Arabs have "so many
countries." "Why should the Kurds [be] the largest
nation in the world, some 13 million Kurds, not to
have a nation as such?
"But life is not just about moaning and
complaining," he added. "Life is about delivering
for your people. I think, and I genuinely say so,
that most Kurds would like to give Iraq a chance.
Iraq -- a democratic Iraq, a federal Iraq -- could
provide the Kurds the country we never had." He said
being part of a democratic Iraq could "protect Iraqi
Kurds from some of the other problems that are out
there."
"Most Kurds would be willing to give Iraq a chance,"
he said.
Salih envisions an Iraq that will "transcend the
ethnic box, the sectarian box." He said he knows
such a thing is possible, even if it won't be easy
to achieve.
"But we will be helping ourselves and helping the
region and helping the rest of the world if we
succeed. And God forbid if we fail, it's going to be
a very, very difficult situation."
Salih said Americans should understand that building
a democracy is not easy, and while it is Iraq's
responsibility to do so, "we cannot do it alone."
"This is much bigger than Iraq itself," Salih said.
And while success will be difficult to achieve, it
is possible, he said. "But failure here is going to
be catastrophic."
Salih said he reminds himself every day -- despite
the frustrations and difficulties -- that "we have a
building of a new nation on the ashes of tyranny and
Saddam's dictatorship."The difficulties of the day,
though they are very tough and very painful, pale in
comparison to the tyranny that we had to endure
under Saddam Hussein," he said.
"The United States came here to help us overcome
Saddam Hussein's tyranny. We are grateful for that.
Many of us are grateful -- the overwhelming majority
of Iraqi society. You gave us the greatest gift of
all, and that is freedom. But we have a long way to
go before we can build a nation that we deserve and
the world deserves. It's going to be tough.
"We have to succeed, and we should always remember
that failure is not an option here."
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