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Iraqis divided over US troop exit
4.9.2010
By IWPR-trained reporters - Iraq |
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Views of American withdrawal coloured by political
party allegiances.
September 4, 2010
Iraqis marked the end of the American military
occupation as an historic milestone this week, but
some questioned the true extent of their sovereignty
and wondered whether Washington would honour its
promise of future support.
United States President Barack Obama announced on
August 31 that “Operation Iraqi Freedom is over and
the Iraqi people now have the lead responsibility
for the security of their country”.
Obama pledged to “support Iraq as it strengthens its
government, resolves political disputes, resettles
those displaced by war and builds ties with the
region and the world”. Yet Obama also said it was
time for America "to turn the page" on what some
consider to be one of the most divisive chapters in
its history.
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US patrol takes a break at a roadside cafe in Mosul.
All combat troops have since left Iraq. (Photo:
Tracey Shelton) IWPR. |
Iraqis were left to read into the
speech whatever they could about the legacy of seven
years of military occupation, and a future that
begins in the shadow of insurgent violence and
political paralysis.
A wave of coordinated attacks in at least 14 cities
and towns on August 25 killed more than 50 people
and wounded hundreds. Meanwhile, a functioning
coalition government has yet to be formed nearly six
months after inconclusive national elections. These
factors, along with Iraq's still sub-standard social
services and utilities, have led some to cast doubt
on the timing of the withdrawal of US combat troops.
“The withdrawal was done according to a timetable
between the US and Iraq, and [Obama] was careful not
to declare America the victor, as [former US
president George] Bush did,” said parliamentarian
Mahmoud Othman, a former member of the US-created
Iraqi Governing Council and now a leader of the
Kurdish coalition in Iraq's National Assembly. “But
it clearly comes at an awful time. The government
isn't formed, and security isn't stable. It's
worrying.”
He added, “Obama spoke about Iraq as partner – that
was his word. Whether he will keep his word or not,
I don't know.”
Iraqi and US officials attempted to ease such
concerns in the days surrounding the speech.
In a televised address on August 30, interim prime
minister Nuri al-Maliki declared that Iraq was now
“sovereign and independent” and expressed faith in
Iraq’s US-trained security forces.
American vice-president Joseph Biden and US
Secretary of Defence Robert Gates arrived separately
in Iraq to reiterate Washington's ongoing support.
Biden also met rival leaders of Iraq's bickering
political blocs in an effort to smooth the
government formation process – a move which some
construed as an attempt to exert political pressure.
“Both Biden's visit and Obama's speech can be
classed as external interference in Iraqi affairs,
and such factors have proven to be useless,” said
Jamal al-Battekh,www.ekurd.neta
senior leader in the Sunni-based Iraqiya coalition.
“America wants a government headed by Maliki, and
this is not acceptable to other voters or Iraq's
other political blocs,” he added, referring to
Maliki's narrow election loss to former prime
minister Ayad Allawi, who heads Iraqiya.
“As an Iraqi citizen, I can see that Iraq is not a
sovereign country,” continued Battekh. “Sovereignty
only exists if [a country has] a powerful army that
can defend its borders. The Iraqi army is no more
than a handful of militias that are affiliated with
political parties. Anyone who talks about
sovereignty or independence in Iraq is delusional.”
Some announced that they were content with the
progress made towards stability.
“Bush defeated the dictatorship, and Obama pulled
American troops out of Iraq and gave Iraqis their
sovereignty, so each one of them did his job well,”
said Abdul Hadi al-Hasani, a senior member of the
State of Law list, which is aligned with caretaker
premier Maliki. “Many of the things Iraq wished to
achieve have already been achieved with the help of
America; Saddam [Hussein] was defeated and a
democratic system was established.
"Now the American forces are withdrawing. The
withdrawal was the most important thing for Iraqis
and now it is done, just as Obama said,” he added.
Hasani said Iraqis would be watching closely to see
whether Obama’s words translated into action,
especially with regard to the training and equipping
of Iraqi forces. He rejected suggestions that the US
or other foreign powers were meddling in Baghdad.
“We are a sovereign country, as the Iraqi premier
said, and the proof is that even after five or six
months after the election, Iraqi politicians are
still in discussions and we do not have a
government. No one has manipulated our politicians
or changed their minds – we are an independent
country,” Hasani said.
Reactions from Iraq’s disparate political movements
have generally divided along partisan lines. Critics
of America pointed out that although the US did
topple Saddam Hussein, the US-led invasion also
obliterated Iraq's infrastructure, sparked a
sectarian civil war, and indirectly cost the lives
of at least 100,00 Iraqi civilians.
“The Sadrist movement doesn’t trust the speech by
Barack Obama because relations between Iraq and the
US are still unequal, just as they have been in the
past,” said Qusay al-Suhail, a senior leader in the
political party of anti-American Shia cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr. “We are against any outside interference in
Iraq, whether it is from the US or any other
[country].
He added, “The Sadrist movement will continue to
regard Obama as the president of the occupied state
of Iraq. We will trust the US administration only
when the last American soldier has left Iraq.”
The US, which will leave roughly 50,000 personnel as
trainers and advisors in Iraq until 2011, has
launched an estimated 53 billion dollar rebuilding
campaign that has drawn controversy over allegations
of mismanagement, despite making vast improvements
to infrastructure. For example, the US has spent
nearly 4.6 billion dollars on electricity upgrades,
yet most Iraqis still only receive between four to
eight hours of power per day.
Some politicians believe that ongoing support from
the US is the only way to improve Iraq's
debilitating social conditions, and the first step
in this process is kick-starting the stalled
negotiations to form a government.
"It is almost six months since we had the election,”
said Falah Mustafa, head of the foreign affairs
department in the Kurdistan Regional Government. “In
the civilised world, a government would be formed in
a few days or weeks, or at least within a couple of
months.”
Mustafa said that Obama’s speech must be taken
seriously because it confirmed the ongoing US
commitment to Iraq, marked the removal of American
combat troops, and called for a new government.
“A chapter in that relationship has ended,” he said.
“The Iraqi leadership has to understand that this is
an important stage in our history.”
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