Chinu. Does this outcome please you? Will you use this to berate you hated enemy Bush or are you capable of understanding that islam no matter where it is can not be trusted to ever do anything that may be against their religion.
The USA fought under clinton in defence of moslums in Former Yugoslavia and the thanks from the world of islam..... 9/11
The first world Trade Center bombing should have been a BIG wake up call to the free world of the intentions of islam crazies.....but it was not.....9/11 may never have happened if the USA reacted then as they are now.
I will bring al-Sadr into government, says the man tipped to be Iraq's new PM
By Toby Harnden in Baghdad
(Filed: 06/02/2005)
news.telegraph.co.uk
A leading contender to become Iraq's new prime minister has offered to welcome Moqtadr al-Sadr, the demagogic Shia cleric behind bloody uprisings against coalition forces, into a new government expanded to include those who boycotted the election.
Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a moderate Shia whose United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) list is certain to top last weekend's poll, told The Telegraph that Sadr, wanted for alleged involvement in the hacking to death of a fellow cleric, was "a good person" who could play a constructive role in the new Iraq.
"Moqtadr Sadr's father was killed by Saddam Hussein," he said. "He has a large number of followers. We can involve them. If they are not killers, and if we have no evidence against them, then we can give them a chance to share in the political process."
His comments show the lengths to which Iraq's likely new leaders are prepared to go in order to divide the insurgency and marginalise its most fanatical elements. Last spring, American spokesmen were insisting that Sadr, whose rebel Mahdi army has killed British and American troops, be "killed or captured". Sadr, who on Friday called for all coalition troops to be withdrawn, also has ties with figures in Iran who might welcome failure in Iraq.
As he staked his claim for the premiership, Dr Jaafari, who lived in exile in Britain before the US-led invasion of Iraq and still maintains a family home in Wembley, north London, also said there could be a role for leaders of Iraq's Sunni minority who boycotted the poll. "It's not necessary that all those who are going to share in the government should have participated in the election," he said. "We have Sunni brothers who do not believe in elections and we respect them. We think they are very honest and talk frankly."
Dr Jaafari, 57, sipped lemon tea in his office in a mansion that overlooks an ornamental lake in the heavily protected Green Zone, as he set out his ambitious agenda for drawing both Sunni rejectionists and disaffected Shia into government.
He lives under constant threat of assassination and, although the notion initially offended his sensibilities, American guards use sniffer dogs to check all electronic items brought into the building, while a US Army Humvee is stationed outside.
The new assembly, which will draw up Iraq's constitution, is supposed to have 275 members, but Dr Jaafari, a physician who advocates a moderate Islamic state, said more seats could be added: "In politics, nothing is fixed. We are dealing with something new."
Even former members of the Ba'ath Party, which forced him into exile, could take part so long as they did not have blood on their hands. "We have to be open to all those within our country, with the exception of those who have killed our people," he said.
That formulation would open the door to followers of Sadr, whose Mahdi army killed soldiers but generally refrained from targeting civilians, and will please Sunni politicians. Adnan Pachachi, the octogenarian elder statesman of Iraq who was foreign minister before the Ba'athists seized power in 1968, said former insurgents, particularly disaffected supporters of Saddam's regime, could be accommodated.
"If they have committed terrible crimes, that's another matter, they have to be tried in a court of law," he said. "But others… there is a possibility of involving them."
Dr Jaafari's name was second on the UIA list, which had the blessing of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Shia Islam's most revered religious leader. It is believed that Abdel Aziz Hakim, the cleric who headed the list, is not interested in becoming prime minister, but Adel Abdel Mahdi, now finance minister and also on it, is a strong contender.
Early results from some mostly Shia provinces last week suggest that the UIA has won a wide victory over the rival and secular "Iraqi list", headed by Ayad Allawi, the interim prime minister, whom many Shia leaders regard as unacceptable. Polls last year found Dr Jaafari to be Iraq's most popular politician and its most recognised leader after Mr Sistani.
Dr Jaafari is stressing secular values, in an attempt to reassure potential partners in what may be a multi-party government. Limiting the rights of women was unacceptable, he said. "This would cause a problem between me and my wife because she is a surgeon. She can open an abdomen but not drive a car? It is not logical."
Asked if Dr Allawi could remain prime minister, Dr Jaafari suggested it would be undemocratic to give the job to a man who finished a distant second: "We have to respect the choice of the voters and prove we are really taking into consideration the process of election." He was ready, he confirmed, to lead Iraq. "My goal was the election and I have no larger ambition. But suppose my people choose me, probably I'm going to agree."
Mr Pachachi said: "The horse trading has already begun." |
